Qualcomm Q4 Highlights: Double Beat, Company Looks Ahead to 'Ramp of our Data Center Business'

Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) reported fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday after market close.

Here are the key highlights.

Qualcomm Q4 Financials

Qualcomm reported fourth-quarter revenue of $10.322 billion, down 8% year-over-year. The revenue total beat a Street consensus estimate of $10.111 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Revenue was split as $9.015 billion for QCT, down 8% year-over-year, and $1.304 billion for QTL, down 7% year-over-year.

Within QCT, revenue broke down as follows:

• Handsets: $5.137 billion, -26% year-over-year
• Automotive: $1.99 billion, +89% year-over-year
• IoT: $1.888 billion, +4% year-over-year

The company reported record automotive quarterly revenue, which it described as its first $2 billion quarter.

Qualcomm reported adjusted earnings of $2.17 per share, beating a Street consensus estimate of $2.16.

"We are pleased to deliver fourth quarter non-GAAP revenues at the high end of our guidance, along with 36% year-over-year growth in combined QCT Automotive and IoT revenues," Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said.

The company said it renewed long-term QTL license agreements with Apple, Huawei and Transsion. The company also announced a "multi-generational" product collaboration with Amazon for AI data centers.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Qualcomm announced a partnership with Starlink, which is a unit of SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX).

What’s Next for Qualcomm

First-quarter guidance from Qualcomm is for revenue of $10.40 billion to $11.20 billion, with QCT revenue in a range of $9.0 billion to $9.6 billion and QTL revenue in a range of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion.

The current Street consensus estimate is $10.48 billion, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Qualcomm estimates first-quarter earnings to come in a range of $2.15 to $2.35 per share. The Street estimate is $2.27.

"Fiscal 2027 marks the start of our non-handset revenue inflection, including the ramp of our Data Center business. Non-handset revenues are projected to grow by more than 60% year-over-year, and we are reiterating our fiscal 2027 Data Center revenue target of $5B," Amon said.

Qualcomm Stock Price Action

Qualcomm stock is down 4.8% to $164.86 in after-hours trading Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $121.99 to $259.92.

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