Qualcomm (QCOM) · Semiconductors
Qualcomm Q3 FY2026 earnings: summary, key numbers & outlook
Results filed 29 Jul 2026 · Quarter ended 28 Jun 2026
Press release ↗Investor relations ↗
Summaries and transcripts are machine-generated and can contain errors.
In brief
Qualcomm reported third quarter fiscal 2026 revenues of $9.9 billion, GAAP EPS of $1.87 and Non-GAAP EPS of $2.21.
Qualcomm's fiscal third-quarter revenue was $9,947 million, down 4% from a year ago, and GAAP diluted EPS fell 23% to $1.87. The decline came from handsets, where chip revenue fell 20%. Automotive grew 61% and IoT grew 9%. Management said the quarter landed at the high end of guidance despite a challenging memory and supply environment. Qualcomm returned $2.3 billion to stockholders.
For the fourth quarter, Qualcomm guided revenue of $9.7B - $10.5B and non-GAAP EPS of $2.05 - $2.25. Management expects non-handset revenue growth, including Data Center, to accelerate from 24% in fiscal 2026 to greater than 60% in fiscal 2027. The main tension is that handsets are shrinking and input costs are rising. Qualcomm says it is raising prices to offset those costs, and expects the benefit to gross margins to come gradually.
Key numbers
- Revenues · GAAP
- $9.9B
- Net income · GAAP
- $2.0B
- Diluted EPS · GAAP
- $1.87
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS · non-GAAP
- $2.21
- Operating income · GAAP
- $1.6B
- Operating cash flow (nine months) · GAAP
- $8.4B
- Returned to stockholders
- $2.3 billion
down 4% from a year ago
down 25% from a year ago
down 23% from a year ago
down 20% from a year ago
compared with 2,762 a year ago
compared with 10,016 in the prior-year nine months
| Segment or metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| QCT revenues | $8.5B | down 5% from a year ago |
| QCT Handsets | $5.1B | down 20% from a year ago |
| QCT Automotive | $1.6B | up 61% from a year ago |
| QCT IoT | $1.8B | up 9% from a year ago |
| QTL revenues | $1.3B | down 3% from a year ago |
Where each number comes from
- Revenues: “Revenues | $9,947 | $10,365 | (4%) | $9,947 | $10,365 | (4%) Earnings before taxes (EBT) | $2,462 | $2,952 | (17%)”
- Net income: “Net income | $2,002 | $2,666 | (25%) | $2,356 | $3,040 | (23%) Diluted earnings per share (EPS) | $1.87 | $2.43 | (23%)”
- Diluted EPS: “Diluted earnings per share (EPS) | $1.87 | $2.43 | (23%) | $2.21 | $2.77 | (20%)”
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS: “Diluted earnings per share (EPS) | $1.87 | $2.43 | (23%) | $2.21 | $2.77 | (20%)”
- Operating income: “Total costs and expenses | 8,321 | 7,603 | 25,496 | 23,576 Operating income | 1,626 | 2,762 | 7,302 | 9,437”
- Operating cash flow (nine months): “Net cash provided by operating activities | 8,405 | 10,016 Investing Activities: Capital expenditures | (1,578) | (785)”
- Returned to stockholders: “During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, we returned $2.3 billion to stockholders, including $973 million, or $0.92 per share, of cash dividends paid”
- QCT revenues: “Handsets | $5,086 | $6,328 | (20%) Automotive | 1,588 | 984 | +61% IoT (internet of things) | 1,830 | 1,681 | +9% Total QCT revenues | $8,504 | $8,993 | (5%)”
- QCT Handsets: “Handsets | $5,086 | $6,328 | (20%) Automotive | 1,588 | 984 | +61% IoT (internet of things) | 1,830 | 1,681 | +9% Total QCT revenues | $8,504 | $8,993 | (5%)”
- QCT Automotive: “Handsets | $5,086 | $6,328 | (20%) Automotive | 1,588 | 984 | +61% IoT (internet of things) | 1,830 | 1,681 | +9% Total QCT revenues | $8,504 | $8,993 | (5%)”
- QCT IoT: “Handsets | $5,086 | $6,328 | (20%) Automotive | 1,588 | 984 | +61% IoT (internet of things) | 1,830 | 1,681 | +9% Total QCT revenues | $8,504 | $8,993 | (5%)”
- QTL revenues: “Revenues | $8,504 | $8,993 | (5%) | $1,278 | $1,318 | (3%) EBT | $2,192 | $2,671 | (18%) | $881 | $942 | (6%)”
Copied from the press release ↗ and other documents in the SEC filing ↗. A figure is published only if its sentence is in the filing.
| From the filing | Q3 FY2026 | vs year ago | vs last quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $9.9B | −4.0% | −6.2% |
| Operating income | $1.6B | −41.1% | −29.6% |
| Net income | $2.0B | −24.9% | −72.8% |
| Diluted EPS | $1.87 | −23.0% | −72.8% |
| Free cash flow | $495.0M | −80.8% | −74.2% |
| Operating margin | 16.3% | −10.3 pts | −5.5 pts |
Calculated by code from XBRL, not by the model.
Outlook
| Metric | Period | Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenues | fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 | $9.7B - $10.5B |
| QCT revenues | fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 | $8.4B - $9.0B |
| QTL revenues | fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 | $1.2B - $1.4B |
| GAAP diluted EPS | fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 | $1.22 - $1.42 |
| Non-GAAP diluted EPS | fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 | $2.05 - $2.25 |
| Year-over-year growth in non-handset revenues, including Data Center | fiscal 2027 | greater than 60% |
| Total non-handset revenues target | fiscal 2029 | $40 billion |
Key takeaways
Handset weakness drove the revenue decline
QCT Handsets revenue was $5,086 million, down 20% from $6,328 million a year ago, which outweighed growth elsewhere. Total revenues fell 4% to $9,947 million.
Automotive and IoT continue to grow
Automotive revenue rose 61% to 1,588 million and IoT rose 9% to 1,830 million. Combined QCT Automotive and IoT revenues grew 28% year over year.
Profits fell faster than revenue
Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.21 versus $2.77 a year ago, down 20%. R&D rose to 2,607 from 2,226 and SG&A rose to 976 from 771.
Rising input costs shape the outlook
Management cited a broad-based increase in input costs and said it is raising product pricing. It expects pricing actions to benefit gross margins over time.
Management targets a non-handset growth inflection
Non-handset revenue growth is expected to accelerate from 24% in fiscal 2026 to greater than 60% in fiscal 2027. The target is $40 billion of non-handset revenues by fiscal 2029.
Charts
Fourth quarter worked out from the annual figure.
Data
| Q1 FY25 | $11.7B |
| Q2 FY25 | $11.0B |
| Q3 FY25 | $10.4B |
| Q4 FY25 | $11.3B * |
| Q1 FY26 | $12.3B |
| Q2 FY26 | $10.6B |
| Q3 FY26 | $9.9B |
| Q4 FY26 | $10.3B * |
Data
| Q1 FY25 | $2.83 |
| Q2 FY25 | $2.52 |
| Q3 FY25 | $2.43 |
| Q1 FY26 | $2.78 |
| Q2 FY26 | $6.88 |
| Q3 FY26 | $1.87 |
Fourth-quarter EPS appears once the press release is read; filings report it only for the full year.
Data
| Q1 FY25 | 30.5% |
| Q2 FY25 | 28.4% |
| Q3 FY25 | 26.6% |
| Q4 FY25 | 25.9% |
| Q1 FY26 | 27.5% |
| Q2 FY26 | 21.8% |
| Q3 FY26 | 16.3% |
| Q4 FY26 | 13.1% |
Data
| Q1 FY25 | $4.3B |
| Q2 FY25 | $2.3B |
| Q3 FY25 | $2.6B |
| Q4 FY25 | $3.6B |
| Q1 FY26 | $4.4B |
| Q2 FY26 | $1.9B |
| Q3 FY26 | $495.0M |
| Q4 FY26 | $1.8B |
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure, from cash flow statements.
Questions
What were Qualcomm's third quarter fiscal 2026 results?
Revenues were $9,947 million, down 4% from a year ago. GAAP diluted EPS was $1.87 and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $2.21.
What is Qualcomm's guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026?
Qualcomm guided revenues of $9.7B - $10.5B and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $2.05 - $2.25. GAAP diluted EPS is guided to $1.22 - $1.42.
How did Qualcomm's handset and automotive businesses perform?
QCT Handsets revenue fell 20% to $5,086 million, while QCT Automotive rose 61% to 1,588 million. QCT IoT grew 9% to 1,830 million.
How much capital did Qualcomm return to stockholders?
It returned $2.3 billion in the quarter, including $973 million of cash dividends ($0.92 per share) and $1.4 billion of share repurchases covering 8 million shares.
What is Qualcomm's long-term non-handset target?
Management expects total non-handset revenues to grow to $40 billion by fiscal 2029. It also expects growth in non-handset revenues to accelerate from 24% in fiscal 2026 to greater than 60% in fiscal 2027.
Documents
SEC filing