Qualcomm jumps 15% after data center chip update

Qualcomm shares rose more than 15% in late trading after the chipmaker’s latest results.

It said a top hyperscaler plans to use its data center chips later this year and that China’s smartphone market should bottom in the third quarter before returning to sequential growth.

The company forecast third quarter revenue of US$9.2 billion to US$10 billion and adjusted earnings of US$2.10 to US$2.30 a share, both below Bloomberg-compiled analyst estimates of US$10.2 billion and US$2.38.

Second quarter revenue fell 3% to US$10.6 billion while adjusted earnings were US$2.65 a share.

Qualcomm also authorized up to US$20 billion in stock buybacks as it expands beyond smartphones into automotive and data center chips.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Qualcomm bets its data center push on efficiency

Qualcomm is aiming at AI inference, the work of running trained models. Nvidia still leads training with an estimated 92% share 1.
The plan leans on low power use, a strength built through years of making mobile chips.
In one independent study, Qualcomm’s older Cloud AI 100 Ultra used up to 35 times less power than Nvidia’s A100 graphics processing units (GPUs) in the tested setups for some tasks 2.
The coming AI200 and AI250 pack up to 768 gigabytes (GB) of Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR) memory on each card. Qualcomm expects memory limits to shape future AI performance more than compute speed 3.
The first large customer named so far is HUMAIN, a Saudi Arabian AI company backed by the kingdom. It plans a 200-megawatt deployment starting in 2026 3.

A US$20 billion buyback suggests confidence as Qualcomm expands beyond chips

Qualcomm approved a US$20 billion share repurchase in March 2026, adding to an earlier buyback program 4.
The move backs an AI hardware strategy centered on overall operating cost and energy use.
That pitch may suit companies and state-backed AI projects, where data center electricity demand can drive budgets and buildout plans 5, 2.
Qualcomm is also moving from chips into rack-scale systems, which combine servers, liquid cooling, and related gear. That could make buying simpler for enterprise customers, though it also brings execution risk in a new market 1, 6.