Why Did Qualcomm Stock Fall 9% on November 5?
Qualcomm fell roughly 9% to 12% on November 5, 2026 because its profit outlook for the next quarter disappointed, even though it reported fourth-quarter revenue of $10.32 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.17 per share. Handset revenue fell 26% from a year earlier, and the stock was already sliding in a chip-wide sell-off.
- Reported: automotive revenue rose 89% and the company repeated its $5 billion data center target for fiscal 2027, but neither offset the soft handset business.
- Our data (October 30): QCOM traded at 19.0 times earnings with a 2.2% dividend yield and was down 5% for the year, so it entered the drop cheaper and further behind than most chip stocks.
This is analysis, not a recommendation. Figures for November 5 are as reported and differ by source and time of day.
What did Qualcomm report after the close on November 4?
Qualcomm released fiscal fourth-quarter results after the market closed on Wednesday, November 4, one day after the midterm rally and one day before the chip sell-off deepened. The headline numbers were reported as better than expected, which is why the reaction surprised some readers.
| Measure | Reported figure | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $10.322 billion | Reported as ahead of analyst estimates |
| Adjusted earnings per share | $2.17 | Also reported as a beat |
| Handset revenue | Down 26% year over year | The core phone-chip business is shrinking |
| Automotive revenue | Up 89% year over year | Fast growth, from a much smaller base |
| Data center target | $5 billion for fiscal 2027, repeated | No upgrade to the target |
| Next-quarter profit outlook | Reported as disappointing | The number that moved the stock |
Reported year-over-year change in Qualcomm's two segments for the fiscal fourth quarter. Automotive grew fastest but is the smaller business.
Reports did not give the exact guidance figures or the analyst estimates, so this post does not either. What they agree on is the direction: results beat, the outlook did not, and the shares fell after hours by nearly 6% before the main session opened.
How far did Qualcomm fall, and when?
The drop grew as the day went on, and different outlets quote different numbers because they were written at different times. One report had Qualcomm down about 9% in morning trading. Another, at 11:19 a.m. New York time, had it down almost 12%.
Qualcomm's reported move widened from about 6% after hours to almost 12% by late morning. These are reported intraday figures, not closing prices.
None of the sources we could read gave a November 5 closing price, so treat every percentage here as a snapshot. A stock that is down 12% at 11 a.m. can finish at -8% or -15%. We will update the numbers once the weekly data refresh brings in the close.
Why did the outlook matter more than the beat?
A quarter's results are history. Guidance is the company's estimate of what comes next, and a stock price is mostly a bet on what comes next. When a company beats the quarter it just finished but guides below what analysts expected, the stock usually falls, because the market is repricing the future rather than rewarding the past.
The second reason is mix. Qualcomm still earns most of its profit from chips that go into phones. A 26% fall in handset revenue is large enough that fast growth in smaller lines cannot cover it. Automotive grew 89%, but a business growing from a small base adds fewer dollars than the phone business loses.
One report said higher-cost components were weighing on the smartphone chip business. It did not name memory, and no report we read confirms a memory link. It is worth watching because memory prices have been a big theme in this market: Can Chinese memory chipmakers compete with Micron? covers why.
Is this a Qualcomm problem or a chip-sector problem?
Both. Qualcomm's own outlook explains why it fell harder than some peers, but it fell on a day when almost every chip stock was selling off. Reported moves on November 5 show how broad the damage was.
| Stock or index | Reported move | Reported reason or context |
|---|---|---|
| Qualcomm (QCOM) | About -9% to -12% | Weak profit outlook |
| Arm | More than -11% | Reported as a guidance reaction |
| Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) | About -9% to -12% | Chip-wide selling |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | About -5% to -7% | Chip-wide selling |
| Broadcom (AVGO) | About -5% | Chip-wide selling |
| Philadelphia Semiconductor Index | -5% early, over -11% by late morning | Fear of AI and data-center rules |
The reported cause for the wider move is political. After Democrats won both chambers of Congress, investors worried about tighter rules on AI and on building data centers. That fear hits companies that sell chips for data centers, and it hurts sentiment toward the whole group. What does a $1 trillion market wipeout mean? puts the size of the move in dollars.
Qualcomm is a partial exception on the cause. Its weakness is about phones, not data centers, so the Congress story explains the backdrop but not the 26% handset decline.
How did Qualcomm look before the drop?
Before this week, Qualcomm already looked different from the AI chip leaders. It was cheaper, slower-growing and lower-margin than most. This site's weekly data from October 30, 2026 shows the starting point.
| Measure (October 30) | Qualcomm | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Market value | $176 billion | 11th of 19 chip stocks on this site by size |
| Trailing P/E | 19.0 | Below Nvidia (25.8) and well below Broadcom (40.4) |
| PEG ratio | 8.9 | Earnings growth does not support the price on this lens |
| Net margin | 21.0% | Nvidia 63.7%, Micron 63.8%, Broadcom 42.9% |
| Revenue growth, trailing year | +1.9% | Barely growing before this news |
| Latest quarter EPS growth, year over year | -22.8% | Profit was already shrinking |
| Dividend yield / payout ratio | 2.2% / 23% | A dividend well covered by earnings |
| Debt to equity | 0.55 | Moderate; interest covered about 38 times |
| Distance from 52-week high | High of $259.92 on May 29, 2026 | The stock had already fallen well off its peak |
| Price change this year / last month | -5% / -10% | Down while the chip basket was up |
Trailing net margin for selected chip stocks from this site's weekly data. Qualcomm, in green, kept about 21 cents of profit per dollar of sales, a third of what Nvidia or Micron kept.
The pattern is clear: the market was already treating Qualcomm as the chip stock that missed the AI boom. A 19 times P/E and a covered dividend are not signs of a broken company. They are signs of a company the market expects to grow slowly. The new outlook gave investors a reason to push that view further.
How does Qualcomm's year compare with the chip leaders?
The gap between Qualcomm and the leaders is the whole story of 2026 in chips. Memory and AI-linked names soared, while the handset-heavy name stayed flat to down.
Price change from January 2 to October 30, 2026 for selected chip stocks, from this site's price files. Qualcomm and Broadcom were the only two of these eight below where they started the year.
An equal-weight basket of the 18 chip stocks we track with full history was up about 47% for the year on October 30, and 24% below its June 22 peak. Qualcomm was missing from the rally, so in one sense it had less to lose on the way down. In another, it showed the market gave no credit for its smaller growth lines.
What does a 9% to 12% drop cost in dollars?
On October 30 Qualcomm's market value was about $176 billion on this site's data. A 9% fall removes roughly $16 billion, and a 12% fall about $21 billion. That is a large loss for shareholders, but it is small next to the biggest names.
| Stock | October 30 value | Value lost at the reported fall |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | $4,980 billion | About $250 billion to $350 billion at -5% to -7% |
| Broadcom | $1,546 billion | About $77 billion at -5% |
| AMD | $812 billion | About $73 billion to $99 billion at -9% to -12% |
| Qualcomm | $176 billion | About $16 billion to $21 billion at -9% to -12% |
These are estimates: the October 30 value multiplied by a reported intraday percentage, not a closing figure. They show scale. Qualcomm matters to its own shareholders, but the index-level damage came from the giants, which is the subject of How much of your portfolio moves with chip stocks?
What should you watch after a guidance miss?
A sharp fall after guidance leaves a set of open questions. These are the checks that tell you whether the market is repricing a lasting problem or overreacting to one quarter.
- The exact guidance. Read the revenue and earnings range in the company's release and compare it with the prior quarter. Reports have not given the figure.
- Handset trend. A 26% fall is steep. Look for whether management calls it a one-time inventory or customer effect or a lasting loss of share.
- Automotive and data center pace. The 89% automotive growth and the $5 billion data center target matter only if they scale fast enough to offset handsets.
- Cost pressure. If higher component costs are squeezing margin, check whether Qualcomm can pass them on to phone makers.
- The dividend. A 23% payout ratio leaves ample room, so a cut would take a much bigger earnings fall.
You can run Qualcomm through this site's checks on its stock page, including the reverse DCF that shows what growth the price assumed. Our figures are from October 30, so they predate the drop. After the Saturday refresh the page will show the post-drop price, and you can compare the two.
Sources and data notes
- TradingKey market recap (November 5, 2026): Qualcomm results and after-hours move
- The Private Banker (November 5, 2026): morning moves and the outlook
- Investing.com (November 5, 2026): late-morning moves for chips
- Qualcomm on this site: ratios, price and filters, October 30, 2026
Reported figures come from news sources that differ by time of day, and the fetched pages did not give guidance numbers, analyst estimates or a closing price. Our own data runs to October 30 and refreshes each Saturday. This is educational content, not investment advice. Read the editorial standards for how we handle sources.
Qualcomm sell-off FAQ
Why did Qualcomm stock drop on November 5, 2026?
It was reported to fall about 9% to 12% because its profit outlook for the next quarter disappointed, even though fourth-quarter revenue of $10.32 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.17 were reported as beats. It also fell during a broad chip sell-off.
What was weak in Qualcomm's results?
Handset revenue fell 26% from a year earlier. Automotive revenue rose 89% and the company repeated its $5 billion data center target for fiscal 2027, but those lines are smaller than handsets.
Is Qualcomm cheap after the drop?
Before the drop it traded at 19.0 times trailing earnings on October 30, below Broadcom at 40.4, with a 2.2% dividend yield. Cheap is not the same as undervalued, because earnings were falling and growth was about 2%. Check its stock page after the refresh.
Is Qualcomm's dividend safe?
Its payout ratio was about 23% on October 30, so earnings covered the dividend more than four times. A cut would take a much larger earnings decline than the one reported.
Did the midterm elections cause the Qualcomm drop?
Not directly. Reports tie the wider chip sell-off to fears of AI and data-center regulation after Democrats won Congress, but Qualcomm's own fall was attributed to its outlook and weak handset sales.
Next step: open Qualcomm's stock page and read its reverse DCF, the growth the price assumed before the drop, then compare it with what management now says it can deliver..