QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, computing, multimedia, and position location products. The QTL segment grants licenses or provides rights to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio, which include various patent rights useful in the manufacture and sale of wireless products comprising products implementing CDMA2000, WCDMA, LTE and/or OFDMA-based 5G standards and their derivatives. The QSI segment invests in early-stage companies in various industries, including 5G, artificial intelligence, automotive, consumer, enterprise, cloud, IoT, and extended reality, and investments, including non-marketable equity securities and, to a lesser extent, marketable equity securities, and convertible debt instruments. It also provides development, and other services and related products to the United States government agencies and their contractors. The company was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Qualcomm has a fundamentally strong picture in terms of business quality, but its valuation no longer looks cheap across all key metrics. A P/E ratio of 19.5 is below the industry median, which supports the idea of reasonable earnings per share, but P/S of 4.45 and especially P/B of 8.96 are noticeably above industry benchmarks and indicate a premium to its book-value and revenue base. P/FCF of 15.7 looks better than P/S and P/B, but not low enough to fully offset the expensiveness on other multiples. Profitability is very strong: ROE of 40.2%, ROA of 18.5%, ROI of 25.1%, and return on tangible equity of 94.4% are significantly above the median, confirming high capital quality and the ability to generate profits. Margins also remain high: net margin of 22.3% and operating margin of 25.5% significantly outperform the industry, although operating margin has declined slightly compared with earlier periods. Gross margin of 54.8% is stable, but the one-year trend is rather sideways with a slight weakening, which does not provide additional momentum for a re-rating. The revenue and earnings picture is mixed: revenue and gross profit are generally high, but recent quarters have shown fluctuations, while net income and EBITDA have dropped noticeably from last year’s peak levels. The balance sheet looks acceptable, but not without risk: debt/equity of 0.54 and long-term debt of about $14.8 billion indicate a moderate debt burden, while liquidity is comfortable, although the quick ratio has fallen to 1.61 and cash on hand has decreased. The dividend yield is currently zero, removing one of the valuation support factors for an income-oriented investor. Overall, this is a company with very strong profitability and good liquidity, but with a noticeable premium in valuation on sales and balance sheet measures and no dividend cushion. Therefore, the base forecast looks too optimistic and calls for a moderate downward adjustment rather than a sharp revaluation, since the fundamentals remain high quality and do not justify a deep correction.

QUALCOMM Incorporated

Средний индекс, значительно упал. Оптимистичный взгляд на свои позиции резко сменился на неуверенность.

Medium index, significantly down. An optimistic view of his position suddenly changed to uncertainty.

Сильный индекс, значительно упал. Медведи в растерянности.

Strong index, significantly down. The bears are confused.

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Рынок не поддерживает быков.

Strong index, flat. The market does not support the bulls.

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Рынок на стороне медведей.

Strong index, flat. The market is on the bears' side.

Средний индекс, незначительно вырос. Отток средств из лонгов на высоком уровне.

Medium index, slightly up. Outflow of funds from longs at a high level.

Слабый индекс, незначительно упал. Приток средств в шорты снизился, но остается положительным.

Weak index, slightly down. The inflow of funds into shorts has decreased, but remains positive.

QCOM has strong profitability and a solid balance sheet, but its P/S and P/B valuation is overstretched, and there is no dividend support; the forecast should be slightly lowered.

Wednesday, July 29th, 2026
A very eventful Hump Day has transpired in today’s trading session, particularly upon the press conference following the Fed monetary policy decision today, which kept interest rates steady once again. Earnings reports for the Mag 7 and more followed the closing bell, with drastically mixed results.
FOMC Decides to Hold Rates at +3.50-3.75%
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has once again voted to keep the ongoing +3.50-3.75% Fed funds rate in place, for now the fifth-straight meeting. The statement issued by the Fed was once again short on words and devoid of guidance, although it did include three dissents — Cleveland’s Beth Hammack, Minneapolis’ Neel Kashkari and Dallas’ Lorie Logan all voted for a 25 basis-point (bps) hike. These are the same Fed members who voted to remove the “downward bias” language from the final FOMC statement under ex-Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s tenure.
That said, there were some real keys to what the Fed considers important: its “2 percent goal” (notice no decimal placement) was cited directly. “There is no soft inflation target… (nor) a soft implicit target,” is how the Fed Chair characterized this in his presser, which gives credence to the idea that the +2.0% interest rate target under Powell remains intact. The culprit, then, for this higher-than-optimal inflation came from “supply shocks that have driven price increases” — meaning, perhaps especially, oil price increases based on the war in Iran, which is as close as the Fed came to saying that present inflation is “transitory.”
Warsh was not big on giving keen insights into the decisions on the Fed’s current monetary policy as he speaks to the Wall Street press pool. In fact, he proved quite adept and speaking at length without betraying any new information not seen in the brief statement. Bond markets were not pleased with his performance, however: the 10-year yield ramped up from +4.63% earlier in the day to +4.69% as of the end of trading. The 2-year slid a tad to +4.26%, marking the first time in several session the yield curve has been more than 40 bps.
Likely, Warsh’s majority decision demonstrates a hopefulness about a timely end to the aggressions in and around Iran, which affect oil prices every time the Strait of Hormuz chokes off its normal traffic levels. (It would have been nice to get some confirmation on this from Warsh himself.) There seems to be little appetite for dampening economic output while the events in Iran remain up in the air.
Earnings Reports After the Bell: META, MSFT, QCOM & More
Meta Platforms META shares are down another -7% in the after-market today, following mixed fiscal Q2 results. Earnings took a couple big one-time hits and came in nearly a buck light of the Zacks consensus to $6.18 per share, missing on the bottom line for the first time since 2022. Revenues of $60.80 billion surpassed the $6.21 billion — well above the $47.52 billion brought in a year ago.
CapEx remained high but didn’t get revised upward on the top end (it did raise on the bottom end): $130-145 billion for the current fiscal year, with free cash flow remaining positive at $784 million. Daily Active People bounced back from its first-ever drop a quarter ago to 3.6 billion. Revenue guidance was lackluster, so the shares are digging the hole deeper, year to date.
Microsoft MSFT was also impacted by one-time items on its bottom line, but these were to the positive, including a $3.2 billion gain from Anthropic. Earnings overall reached $4.74 per share on $90.01 billion in revenues, easily bettering the estimates of $4.21 per share and $87.44 billion, respectively. CapEx spending was in-line at $41 billion, on pace for its guided full-year rate of $190 billion. Azure growth was strong, +43%, while Co-Pilot seats have doubled in the past three quarters.
Qualcomm QCOM shares are off their late-market lows, -4.4%, on a one-cent miss on earnings to $2.21 per share, down -20% year over year. Revenues, on the other hand, reached $9.95 billion, well ahead of the $9.71 billion in the Zacks consensus. Next-quarter earnings guidance lowered to $2.15 per share at the midpoint, as Chinese smartphone business fell in the quarter. Qualcomm intends to shift toward non-handset chips as its main revenue source in the future.
Starbucks SBUX was also mixed in its fiscal Q3 report today, beating solidly on earnings — +85 cents per share, versus +66 cents expected, up from 50 cents per share a year ago. Revenues of $9.3 billion, however, were below the $9.44 billion analysts were expecting. It’s the fourth-straight month of comp growth, meaning CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround looks to be in effect. Shares are up nearly +7% on the news.
Speaking of Brian Niccol, his former company, Chipotle Mexican Grill CMG posted modest outperformance on both top and bottom lines this afternoon, beating on the bottom line by a penny to $0.33 per share on revenues of $3.35 billion, a smidge above the $3.32 billion anticipated. Comps sales rose +2.2% in the quarter. Notably, no cyclospora contagion hit the company during the Q2. Shares are up +2.7% on the news.
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FOMC Holds, Market Folds, Q2 Earnings Mostly Bold

For the quarter ended June 2026, Qualcomm (QCOM) reported revenue of $9.95 billion, down 4% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.21, compared to $2.77 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +2.44% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.71 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $2.22, the EPS surprise was -0.45%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Qualcomm performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Revenues- QCT: $8.5 billion versus $8.29 billion estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -5.4% change.
Revenues- QTL: $1.28 billion compared to the $1.25 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of -3% year over year.
Revenues- QCT- Automotive: $1.59 billion compared to the $1.49 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +61.4% year over year.
Revenues- QCT- Handsets: $5.09 billion versus the four-analyst average estimate of $4.92 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -19.6%.
Revenues- QCT- IoT (internet of things): $1.83 billion compared to the $1.83 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +8.9% year over year.
Shares of Qualcomm have returned -11.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.9% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
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Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
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Compared to Estimates, Qualcomm (QCOM) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics

Qualcomm (QCOM) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.22 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.77 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -0.45%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this chipmaker would post earnings of $2.57 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.65, delivering a surprise of +3.11%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.
Qualcomm, which belongs to the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry, posted revenues of $9.95 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.44%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $10.37 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Qualcomm shares have lost about 4.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.5%.
What's Next for Qualcomm?
While Qualcomm has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Qualcomm was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.38 on $10.11 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $10.78 on $42.69 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Electronics - Semiconductors is currently in the top 21% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Ichor Holdings (ICHR), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 3.
This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +933.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Ichor Holdings' revenues are expected to be $300.33 million, up 25% from the year-ago quarter.
Should You Invest in QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM)?
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Zacks Investment Research has been committed to providing investors with tools and independent research since 1978. For more than a quarter century, the Zacks Rank stock-rating system has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +24.08% per year. (These returns cover a period from January 1, 1988 through May 6, 2024.)
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Qualcomm (QCOM) Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates

(RTTNews) - Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) reported earnings for third quarter that Drops, from last year
The company's earnings came in at $2.002 billion, or $1.87 per share. This compares with $2.666 billion, or $2.43 per share, last year.
Excluding items, Qualcomm Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $2.356 billion or $2.21 per share for the period.
The company's revenue for the period fell 4.0% to $9.947 billion from $10.365 billion last year.
Qualcomm Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings: $2.002 Bln. vs. $2.666 Bln. last year. -EPS: $1.87 vs. $2.43 last year. -Revenue: $9.947 Bln vs. $10.365 Bln last year.
-Guidance: Next quarter EPS guidance: $ 2.05 To $ 2.25 Next quarter revenue guidance: $ 9.7 B To $ 10.5 B
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Qualcomm Inc. Reveals Decline In Q3 Profit

The following companies are expected to report earnings after hours on 07/29/2026. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The computer software company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 15 analysts that follow the stock is $4.21. This value represents a 15.34% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year MSFT has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 4.91%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for MSFT is 23.55 vs. an industry ratio of 20.40, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The internet software company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 13 analysts that follow the stock is $7.10. This value represents a 0.56% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year META has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 8.94%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for META is 20.18 vs. an industry ratio of 143.20.
Lam Research Corporation (LRCX)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The electric company company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 9 analysts that follow the stock is $1.69. This value represents a 27.07% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year LRCX has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 8.09%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for LRCX is 47.47 vs. an industry ratio of 28.70, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Arm Holdings plc (ARM)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The electric company company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 4 analysts that follow the stock is $0.18. This value represents a 12.50% increase compared to the same quarter last year. ARM missed the consensus earnings per share in the 1st calendar quarter of 2026 by -5.26%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2027 Price to Earnings ratio for ARM is 218.52 vs. an industry ratio of 28.70, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The electric company company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 8 analysts that follow the stock is $1.54. This value represents a 32.75% decrease compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year QCOM has met analyst expectations once and beat the expectations the other three quarters. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for QCOM is 20.41 vs. an industry ratio of 28.70.
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The restaurant company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $0.66. This value represents a 32.00% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for SBUX is 42.78 vs. an industry ratio of -4.90, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The security company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $0.66. This value represents a 13.79% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year FTNT has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 37.74%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for FTNT is 53.56 vs. an industry ratio of 254.80.
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The reit company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 5 analysts that follow the stock is $10.14. This value represents a 2.32% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year EQIX has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest one was in the 1st calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by 9.54%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for EQIX is 27.06 vs. an industry ratio of 14.00, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CP)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The transportation (rail) company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 7 analysts that follow the stock is $0.89. This value represents a 9.88% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for CP is 24.85 vs. an industry ratio of 18.00, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The wholesale retail company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 10 analysts that follow the stock is $0.85. This value represents a 8.97% increase compared to the same quarter last year. ORLY missed the consensus earnings per share in the 4th calendar quarter of 2025 by -1.39%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for ORLY is 28.14 vs. an industry ratio of 20.20, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The investment bankers company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 5 analysts that follow the stock is $0.43. This value represents a 2.38% increase compared to the same quarter last year. HOOD missed the consensus earnings per share in the 1st calendar quarter of 2026 by -5%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for HOOD is 47.57 vs. an industry ratio of 16.90, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.
Deutsche Bank AG (DB)is reporting for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The bank (foreign) company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the 2 analysts that follow the stock is $0.91. This value represents a 68.52% increase compared to the same quarter last year. DB missed the consensus earnings per share in the 2nd calendar quarter of 2025 by -30.77%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2026 Price to Earnings ratio for DB is 9.04 vs. an industry ratio of 12.20.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

After-Hours Earnings Report for July 29, 2026 : MSFT, META, LRCX, ARM, QCOM, SBUX, FTNT, EQIX, CP, ORLY, HOOD, DB

Among the underlying components of the S&P 500 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Eaton Corp plc (Symbol: ETN), where a total of 15,247 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 1.5 million underlying shares. That amounts to about 73.1% of ETN's average daily trading volume over the past month of 2.1 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $310 strike put option expiring September 18, 2026, with 5,961 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 596,100 underlying shares of ETN. Below is a chart showing ETN's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $310 strike highlighted in orange:
Qualcomm Inc (Symbol: QCOM) saw options trading volume of 63,896 contracts, representing approximately 6.4 million underlying shares or approximately 46.7% of QCOM's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 13.7 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $175 strike call option expiring August 07, 2026, with 7,119 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 711,900 underlying shares of QCOM. Below is a chart showing QCOM's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $175 strike highlighted in orange:
And Lam Research Corp (Symbol: LRCX) options are showing a volume of 54,546 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 5.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 45.7% of LRCX's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 11.9 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $290 strike put option expiring July 31, 2026, with 2,816 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 281,600 underlying shares of LRCX. Below is a chart showing LRCX's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $290 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for ETN options, QCOM options, or LRCX options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Further ETN Research:
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy Wednesday Option Activity: ETN, QCOM, LRCX

Pre-market futures are flat-to-down ahead of today’s open, with overseas turbulence in the memory chip market reverberating on domestic shores. We also see something of a hesitation in trading ahead of this afternoon’s Fed decision on interest rates. The Dow is off -340 points at this hour, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is -7, while the S&P 500 and small-cap Russell 2000 are flat.
Saudi Arabia attacked Iran-backed forced in Iraq, demonstrating a further widening of the conflict that originally had been contained to the U.S. and Israel versus Iran. Spot oil prices are back up again this morning, but still just in the $80s per barrel (/bbl); a week ago, Brent crude had surged back over $100/bbl.
South Korean Finance Takes Measures to Calm Market
The finance minister of South Korea overnight has initiated caps on single-stock leveraged ETFs — a clear move to quiet market volatility related to SK Hynix (SKHY), one of the top memory chip producers in the world, which is a key component in the AI trade. The Korean stock market, KOSPI, was down another -6%, -15% over the last week.
This is reportedly the first time the country has applied the breaks to a particular stock trading entity, and it comes the day SK Hynix missed on both top and bottom lines in its first publicly trading earnings report this morning. Both operating profits and sales, however, rose triple-digits in the quarter. The company, one of the biggest suppliers to NVIDIA (NVDA), is down -1% on the news, -22% since its IPO less than three weeks ago.
FOMC Decision: No Longer a Slam Dunk?
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes its fifth meeting so far in 2026, and the first one where analysts have an inkling something might change on the Fed funds rate. Particularly, a quarter-points rate hike has been bandied about as a possibility today over the past week or so, likely due to inflation rates dancing up around +4% over the past couple months and uncertainties around the Strait of Hormuz.
With Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s new methodology intentionally less transparent than the last three Fed chairs (Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell), it’s tough to get a read on what results his leadership will glean this afternoon at 2pm ET. But from this vista, despite whether more hawkish members of the Fed cast their votes to raise interest rates, it’s hard to see a Warsh-led consensus bringing this about so early into his tenure. Unless he’s looking for a fight from President Trump.
Q2 Roundup at a Glance: PG, HUM & More
Procter & Gamble (PG) beat on fiscal Q4 earnings this morning by 2 cents per share, while missing slightly on its top line to $21.2 billion, above the $20.89 billion reported a year ago.
Health insurance giant Humana (HUM) posted a huge Q2 earnings beat this morning: $7.61 per share versus $6.22 in the Zacks consensus, for a +22.35% positive earnings surprise. Revenues of $40.89 billion outpaced expectations by +0.59%.
Biotech major Biogen (BIIB) provided one of the strongest quarterly reports of the morning, with Q2 earnings of $3.60 per share well above the $3.04 projected, on revenues of $2.74 billion which outperformed estimates by +9.4%.
Vans, Timberland and The North Face parent V.F. Corp. (VFC) posted its first earnings miss in the last four quarters: -$0.27 per share versus -$0.22 expected. Revenues of $1.67 billion was -0.29% below consensus.
After the close, we’ll see results from two key “Mag 7” companies, Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), In addition, reports are also due from Qualcomm (QCOM) and Starbucks (SBUX), among others, this afternoon.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Q2 Earnings Season in Full Swing

Wednesday, July 29th, 2026
Pre-market futures are flat-to-down ahead of today’s open, with overseas turbulence in the memory chip market reverberating on domestic shores. We also see something of a hesitation in trading ahead of this afternoon’s Fed decision on interest rates. The Dow is off -340 points at this hour, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is -7, while the S&P 500 and small-cap Russell 2000 are flat.
Saudi Arabia attacked Iran-backed forced in Iraq, demonstrating a further widening of the conflict that originally had been contained to the U.S. and Israel versus Iran. Spot oil prices are back up again this morning, but still just in the $80s per barrel (/bbl); a week ago, Brent crude had surged back over $100/bbl.
South Korean Finance Takes Measures to Calm Market
The finance minister of South Korea overnight has initiated caps on single-stock leveraged ETFs — a clear move to quiet market volatility related to SK Hynix SKHY, one of the top memory chip producers in the world, which is a key component in the AI trade. The Korean stock market, KOSPI, was down another -6%, -15% over the last week.
This is reportedly the first time the country has applied the breaks to a particular stock trading entity, and it comes the day SK Hynix missed on both top and bottom lines in its first publicly trading earnings report this morning. Both operating profits and sales, however, rose triple-digits in the quarter. The company, one of the biggest suppliers to NVIDIA NVDA, is down -1% on the news, -22% since its IPO less than three weeks ago.
FOMC Decision: No Longer a Slam Dunk?
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes its fifth meeting so far in 2026, and the first one where analysts have an inkling something might change on the Fed funds rate. Particularly, a quarter-points rate hike has been bandied about as a possibility today over the past week or so, likely due to inflation rates dancing up around +4% over the past couple months and uncertainties around the Strait of Hormuz.
With Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s new methodology intentionally less transparent than the last three Fed chairs (Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell), it’s tough to get a read on what results his leadership will glean this afternoon at 2pm ET. But from this vista, despite whether more hawkish members of the Fed cast their votes to raise interest rates, it’s hard to see a Warsh-led consensus bringing this about so early into his tenure. Unless he’s looking for a fight from President Trump.
Q2 Roundup at a Glance: PG, HUM & More
Procter & Gamble PG beat on fiscal Q4 earnings this morning by 2 cents per share, while missing slightly on its top line to $21.2 billion, above the $20.89 billion reported a year ago. For more on PG’s earnings, click here.
Health insurance giant Humana HUM posted a huge Q2 earnings beat this morning: $7.61 per share versus $6.22 in the Zacks consensus, for a +22.35% positive earnings surprise. Revenues of $40.89 billion outpaced expectations by +0.59%. For more on HUM’s earnings, click here.
Biotech major Biogen BIIB provided one of the strongest quarterly reports of the morning, with Q2 earnings of $3.60 per share well above the $3.04 projected, on revenues of $2.74 billion which outperformed estimates by +9.4%. For more on BIIB’s earnings, click here.
Vans, Timberland and The North Face parent V.F. Corp. VFC posted its first earnings miss in the last four quarters: -$0.27 per share versus -$0.22 expected. Revenues of $1.67 billion was -0.29% below consensus. For more on VFC’s earnings, click here.
After the close, we’ll see results from two key “Mag 7” companies, Microsoft MSFT and Meta Platforms META, In addition, reports are also due from Qualcomm QCOM and Starbucks SBUX, among others, this afternoon.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Investors Await Fed Decision Today

(RTTNews) - Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) will host a conference call at 4:45 PM ET on July 29, 2026, to discuss Q3 26 earnings results.
To access the live webcast, log on to https://investor.qualcomm.com/overview/default.aspx
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Qualcomm Q3 26 Earnings Conference Call At 4:45 PM ET

Key Points
Qualcomm reports fiscal third-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, July 29.
Handset revenue fell 13% last quarter while automotive revenue grew 38% to a record.
The consensus rating on the stock is hold, yet the average price target sits about 36% above the current price.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) trades at $162.88 as of this writing, about 37% below its 52-week high of $259.92. The 36 analysts covering the chipmaker rate it, on average, a hold. Yet those same analysts carry an average price target of $221.23, about 36% above the stock.
What gives? In short, shares have pulled back sharply -- and most analysts covering the stock haven't updated their ratings. So, is this a buying opportunity? With the company reporting fiscal third-quarter results after the market closes Wednesday, this is a timely question worth considering.
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What's leading to some caution
Qualcomm's most recent report shows some reasons to be cautious. Revenue for the fiscal second quarter (the period ended March 29, 2026) came in at $10.6 billion, down 3% year over year, and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share fell 7% to $2.65. And the underlying trouble sat exactly where the company's chip revenue is most concentrated. Handset chips, at $6.0 billion of revenue, fell 13% from the year-ago period.
"We are pleased to deliver results in line with our guidance, reflecting solid execution as we navigate a challenging memory environment," said CEO Cristiano Amon in the company's fiscal second-quarter earnings release.
That memory reference is the near-term story. Memory chip prices have surged, squeezing the budgets of the phone makers that buy Qualcomm's processors. Qualcomm reportedly answered on July 24, telling customers it will raise chip prices by double digits on products shipped after Sept. 1. Guidance for the quarter being reported Wednesday calls for revenue of $9.2 billion to $10.0 billion, below last quarter at the midpoint, with adjusted earnings per share of $2.10 to $2.30. Management said the outlook reflects memory supply constraints hitting demand from several handset makers. It also said it expects handset revenue from Chinese customers to bottom in the quarter and return to sequential growth the following one -- a specific, checkable claim that Wednesday's guidance will either support or undercut.
Then there is Apple. The iPhone maker began shipping phones with its own in-house modem chip in early 2025 and has reportedly been working toward dropping Qualcomm's modems across its lineup, a transition reported to run through 2027. That transition has hung over this stock for years, and it lands on the same handset line the memory squeeze is hitting now.
Reasons to be optimistic
But there's some good news, too.
Automotive revenue rose 38% year over year last quarter to a record $1.3 billion, and its Internet of Things (IoT) revenue grew 9% to $1.7 billion. Together, the two grew 20%, and they now account for about a third of chip segment revenue. Qualcomm's licensing business (the patent royalties phone makers pay to use its cellular technology) added $1.4 billion on top, at a 72% pre-tax margin.
The company is also pushing into data centers. Amon said a custom silicon engagement with a leading hyperscaler (one of the giant cloud computing providers) remains on track for initial shipments later this calendar year. At an investor day in June, management set a target of more than $15 billion of data center revenue by fiscal 2029, up from about $300 million this year.
And Qualcomm continues returning capital to shareholders. It paid out and repurchased $3.7 billion in the fiscal second quarter, bought back $5.4 billion of stock in the first half of its fiscal year, and announced a new $20 billion repurchase authorization. At the current price, the dividend yields 2.2%.
To be clear, no price target makes an investment case on its own, and the distance to this one is not a reason to buy the stock. What the gap shows is simply that the analysts who study this company most closely think the diversification is worth considerably more than a memory-squeezed handset cycle. But there are still risks.
After all, at about 17 times forward earnings with a 2.2% yield, a lot of handset erosion is arguably already in the price.
So here is what I'd watch Wednesday afternoon. First, does management's call for a bottom in Chinese handset revenue survive contact with the new guidance? And second, is automotive still compounding at anything near last quarter's pace? This may be a buying opportunity. But I'd personally rather wait for more information before considering buying, even if the stock rebounds too fast for me to get an opportunity to own shares.
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Daniel Sparks and his clients have positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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