JPMorgan has stark message on Qualcomm stock

Here's JPMorgan's connection to Qualcomm investors:

On April 16, JPMorgan downgraded Qualcomm to Neutral from Overweight, chopped its terms people from $185 to $140, and enactment the banal connected "Negative Catalyst Watch" up of fiscal Q2 results expected connected April 29. Negative catalyst ticker is simply a word JPMorgan uses erstwhile it sees meaningful near-term downside hazard and nary wide lawsuit apt to amended the outlook.

Qualcomm shares person already fallen 22% truthful acold successful 2026 and astir 40% from their October peak, with the banal presently trading astir $136 per share.

JPMorgan's telephone reflects increasing downside hazard to near-term net arsenic Qualcomm’s handset concern faces respective pressures astatine once:

• Memory proviso constraints

• Weak smartphone request successful China

• Heavy lawsuit attraction with Apple and Samsung

Those risks substance due to the fact that Qualcomm inactive depends heavy connected Qualcomm CDMA Technology (QCT), its spot unit, for earnings. J.P. Morgan present expects QCT gross to diminution 22% successful calendar 2026, worse than the 17% diminution expected by the broader Street.

Qualcomm's existent guardant P/E aggregate of conscionable implicit 12x lone looks inexpensive if net hold. If handset weakness persists and vulnerability to premium customers shrinks, the banal whitethorn not beryllium inexpensive comparative to normalized net power.

The setup for Qualcomm’s upcoming Q2'26 net study connected April 29 was established with Q1 results released successful precocious December. The institution posted fiscal Q1 gross of $12.25 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, some up of statement estimates of $12.21 cardinal and $3.39, respectively. But the marketplace focused connected weaker guidance alternatively than the beat.

For fiscal Q2, Qualcomm guided to gross of $10.2 cardinal to $11.0 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $2.45 to $2.65. More importantly, it guided QCT EBT borderline to 26%-28%, down from 31% previously.

More Qualcomm:

• Galaxy S26 brings ‘agentic AI’ to phones, and it’s bigger than Samsung

• Qualcomm issues urgent dividend alert for spot investors

• Bank of America resets Qualcomm banal terms people aft earnings

QCT is Qualcomm’s main nett engine, truthful a 3- to 5-point driblet successful profitability reduces nett per handset dollar and increases the hazard that immoderate gross diminution volition construe into a larger deed to EPS.