Is QCOM overvalued or undervalued?

At $172.11 the price sits inside a range too wide to call either way. We don't call QCOM overvalued or undervalued from a range. This is an educational estimate, not advice.

What discount rate is used for QCOM?

A WACC of 13.0% and a terminal growth rate of 2.5%.

Is QUALCOMM stock undervalued?

TickerWorth's fair-value range for QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) is $73.91 – $310.00 against a market price of $172.11. Too wide to call. We publish a range here, not one number, so we do not call it over- or undervalued. This is a model estimate, not investment advice.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) DCF valuation and fair value

Our fair-value range for QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) is $73.91 – $310.00, built on a 13.0% discount rate (WACC) and 2.5% terminal growth. It blends our discounted-cash-flow model with other valuation lenses. Every assumption is listed on this page with its source.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) insider trading

The most recent insider filing (SEC Form 4) for QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM): CHAPLIN ANN C, EVP, GenCounsel&CorpSecretary, open-market sale on 2026-10-16. The latest filings are listed on this page. A disclosure, not a signal to trade.

QCOM · Intrinsic value

Is QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) overvalued or undervalued?

Name: QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) DCF intrinsic value
Creator: TickerWorth

As of Oct 19, 2026, TickerWorth's valuation lenses put QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) at $73.91 – $310.00, too broad a range to say where the delayed market price of $172.11 sits in it, so we do not call it over- or undervalued. It is a model estimate, and every input behind it is sourced below.

Model by Miraaj Patel · generated from a hand-researched model · Updated Oct 19, 2026 · How these pages are made

Open full QCOM analysis

What is QCOM worth?

Fair-value range: $73.91 – $310.00; A range by design: peer multiples and our researched mid-cycle DCF.
Market price: $172.11
Gap to fair value: —
Verdict: Too wide to call

Price as of 19 Oct 2026, 13:54 UTC · Prices are delayed.We publish this company as a range by design, not because our valuation lenses disagree, and we do not collapse it to a single number. We do not call it over- or undervalued from a range.

Fair-value range against the delayed market price: Too wide to call.

Reverse DCF: Today's price implies revenue growth of more than 25%/yr. Above about 25% a year the reverse-DCF stops being informative. It solves for revenue growth alone — holding margins, capital intensity and the forecast horizon fixed — so a price well above our cash-flow model's value has nowhere to go but growth, and the solver returns a rate the model can't reconcile. Read it as "the price implies growth we can't justify", not as a forecast.

What is QCOM's TickerWorth Score?

C52/100

Middle of the pack — real strengths and real weaknesses

Compared with Technology companies in US

Its strongest point: looks cheap on the numbers. Its weakest: growth is slow or negative.

Value · 64 of 100
Cheaper than 64% of Technology companies in US
Price vs worth · 70 of 100
Quality · 65 of 100
More profitable than 65% of Technology companies in US
Financial health · 48 of 100
Financially stronger than 48% of Technology companies in US
Growth · 9 of 100
Growing faster than 9% of Technology companies in US
Momentum · 44 of 100
Outperformed 44% of Technology companies in US over the past year

Confidence: Medium confidence · Scored 19 Oct 2026, 13:54 UTC

Get the Undervalued Company of the Week.

Where the numbers come from

Hand-researched model

What the modeller flagged

THE SITE WILL PUBLISH THIS AS A RANGE, DELIBERATELY. Year 1 (FY2026) is a revenue DECLINE of 3.1% — reported quarters plus the company's own Q4 guidance — which trips the mechanical cyclical flag. Note the flag's usual reading ('a cyclical at the top') is wrong here: FY2026 is a trough year for handsets (memory-driven build cuts plus Apple), and the forecast RISES from Year 2. The range-only treatment is still right, because the value depends heavily on a data-center ramp that has not yet produced meaningful revenue.
YEAR-1 FCF IS ~33% BELOW REPORTED TTM FCF ($7.0B modeled vs $10,416M). It decomposes: (1) SBC of ~$3.4B a year is a real cost inside GAAP EBIT here but is added back in Qualcomm's reported cash flow — the largest piece; (2) tax normalized to 15% vs a FY2026 cash-tax profile distorted by the valuation-allowance round trip; (3) capex at ~5% of revenue; partly offset (4) by a working-capital release the engine books on falling revenue that Qualcomm did not actually see. Adding SBC back (non-GAAP margins) would lift the value to ~$103.
THE DISCOUNT RATE DOES MOST OF THE WORK. WACC is 13.0%, driven by the published 1.68 beta. Beta 1.3 → ~$91; 1.0 → ~$111. Every reasonable beta still leaves the model well below today's price, but the size of the gap is mostly a statement about beta.
TERMINAL VALUE IS ~66% OF ENTERPRISE VALUE — lower than most models in this tracker because the 13% WACC shrinks the far years hard. The implied terminal multiple is ~6.8x EBITDA, which is low for a company with a 70%-margin licensing franchise; that is the cost of the high beta.
SHARE COUNT UNDERSTATES DILUTION BY ~1%. The 1,069M Q3 weighted-diluted count predates the ~18M Modular shares (2026-07-28) and the Amazon warrant (up to 25M at $161.26; 3.75M vested). Q4 buybacks offset part of it. Not adjusted, per the house rule; flagged.
LEGAL: the Qualcomm v. Arm contract trial is scheduled to begin 2026-10-05 (10-Q, Note 5); ParkerVision's appeal was heard 2026-06-01. Neither outcome is modeled. QTL's other key OEM licenses expire between fiscal 2027 and 2031 (10-Q, Note 2).
FISCAL 2026 HAS ENDED BUT IS NOT FILED. The 10-K (~early November) will replace the Q4 guidance midpoint with actuals; Year 1 will move by whatever Q4 lands versus $10.1B and ~17% GAAP operating margin.

Why QCOM gets a range, not one number

At a recent price of $172.11, QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) sits inside a range too wide to call either way: our valuation lenses put the business somewhere between $73.91 and $310.00 per share. For a cyclical we value through the cycle we publish a range only (peer multiples and our researched mid-cycle DCF): where in the cycle the business sits decides where in that range it lands, and a single figure would claim we know that precisely. This is an educational model, not a price target or a recommendation.

Read the full reasoning

The valuation discounts QUALCOMM Incorporated's projected free cash flows at a weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) of 13.0%, with a long-run terminal growth rate of 2.5%. About 66% of the enterprise value comes from the terminal value — the portion beyond the explicit forecast window — which is typical for a stable, cash-generative business and a reminder that small changes in the discount rate or terminal growth assumption swing the intrinsic value meaningfully.

Running the DCF in reverse — solving for the growth the current price already assumes — QCOM would need sustained revenue growth of more than 25%/yr to justify today's price, against about 5.8% a year compounded in our base case. We don't quote a precise figure here, because past about 25% a year the reverse-DCF stops being informative: it solves for revenue growth alone, holding margins, capital intensity and the forecast horizon fixed, so a price well above our fair value has nowhere to go but growth. The honest reading is that the price implies growth this model can't reconcile — not that we forecast it.

Sensitivity matters more than any single number. Across a reasonable band of discount-rate assumptions, QCOM's modeled DCF value ranges from about $59.48 to $97.23 per share. If that range still sits below today's price, the market is optimistic relative to the model across the whole band; if it brackets the price, the stock is roughly fairly valued on our assumptions. Use the interactive slider to see exactly where your own cost-of-capital view lands.

How to read this page: the DCF fair value is what QUALCOMM Incorporated would be worth if its cash flows grow as modeled and are discounted at the stated WACC. The assumptions table shows every input and its source; the reverse-DCF shows what the market believes; the sensitivity band shows how fragile the answer is. None of this is investment advice — it is a transparent, auditable framework for forming your own view of QCOM's intrinsic value. Figures update as new filings and prices come in.

Every input behind QCOM's DCF

Input	Value	Source
Base-year revenueQCOM FY2025 10-K for the year ended 2025-09-28 (accession 0000804328-25-000085, filed 2025-11-05): Total revenues, fiscal year ended 2025-09-28: $44,284M (+13.7% on FY2024's $38,962M) — equipment and services $37,869M, licensing $6,415M. Segments: QCT $38,367M (handsets $27,793M, automotive $3,957M, IoT $6,617M), QTL $5,582M. Includes $143M of unallocated licensing revenue from a dispute settlement (Q2 FY2025), so the like-for-like base is $44,141M. FY2026 is NOT yet filed (the year ended ~2026-09-27; the 10-K is due ~early November), so FY2025 is the last completed year with a 10-K. CROSS-CHECK: Q1-Q3 FY2026 revenue $32,798M vs $33,013M a year earlier (-0.7%); Q3 alone $9,947M (-4%). TTM through 2026-06-28: $44,069M.	$44,284,000,000	QCOM FY2025 10-K for the year ended 2025-09-28 (accession 0000804328-25-000085, filed 2025-11-05): Total revenues, fiscal year ended 2025-09-28: $44,284M (+13.7% on FY2024's $38,962M) — equipment and services $37,869M, licensing $6,415M. Segments: QCT $38,367M (handsets $27,793M, automotive $3,957M, IoT $6,617M), QTL $5,582M. Includes $143M of unallocated licensing revenue from a dispute settlement (Q2 FY2025), so the like-for-like base is $44,141M. FY2026 is NOT yet filed (the year ended ~2026-09-27; the 10-K is due ~early November), so FY2025 is the last completed year with a 10-K. CROSS-CHECK: Q1-Q3 FY2026 revenue $32,798M vs $33,013M a year earlier (-0.7%); Q3 alone $9,947M (-4%). TTM through 2026-06-28: $44,069M.
Base EBIT marginQCOM FY2025 10-K for the year ended 2025-09-28 (accession 0000804328-25-000085, filed 2025-11-05): GAAP operating income $12,355M / revenue $44,284M = 27.90%. AFTER $2,783M of stock-based compensation (6.3% of revenue), $321M of acquired-intangible amortization and $39M of restructuring ('Other'). Non-GAAP operating margin, which adds SBC and other items back, was 35.0% ($15,453M / $44,141M, per the Ex-99.1 reconciliation) — this model uses GAAP. SEGMENT VIEW, which is the point of this company: QCT EBT $11,670M on $38,367M = 30%; QTL EBT $4,043M on $5,582M = 72%. Licensing is 12.6% of revenue but ~26% of segment profit. CROSS-CHECK, AND THIS IS WHY YEAR 1 FALLS: Q1-Q3 FY2026 GAAP operating income $7,302M / $32,798M = 22.3%, Q3 alone $1,626M / $9,947M = 16.3%. QCT EBT margin fell to 26% in Q3 (from 30%) on higher product cost (wafer, packaging, memory inflation) and R&D up 17% YoY ($2,607M vs $2,226M) as the data-center push is funded ahead of revenue.	27.9%	QCOM FY2025 10-K for the year ended 2025-09-28 (accession 0000804328-25-000085, filed 2025-11-05): GAAP operating income $12,355M / revenue $44,284M = 27.90%. AFTER $2,783M of stock-based compensation (6.3% of revenue), $321M of acquired-intangible amortization and $39M of restructuring ('Other'). Non-GAAP operating margin, which adds SBC and other items back, was 35.0% ($15,453M / $44,141M, per the Ex-99.1 reconciliation) — this model uses GAAP. SEGMENT VIEW, which is the point of this company: QCT EBT $11,670M on $38,367M = 30%; QTL EBT $4,043M on $5,582M = 72%. Licensing is 12.6% of revenue but ~26% of segment profit. CROSS-CHECK, AND THIS IS WHY YEAR 1 FALLS: Q1-Q3 FY2026 GAAP operating income $7,302M / $32,798M = 22.3%, Q3 alone $1,626M / $9,947M = 16.3%. QCT EBT margin fell to 26% in Q3 (from 30%) on higher product cost (wafer, packaging, memory inflation) and R&D up 17% YoY ($2,607M vs $2,226M) as the data-center push is funded ahead of revenue.
Forecast revenue growthESTIMATEAssumption — TickerWorth's 5-year explicit forecast	-3% → 4% → 10% → 11% → 8%	ESTIMATEAssumption — TickerWorth's 5-year explicit forecast
Risk-free rateUS 10Y Treasury constant maturity (FRED DGS10): 5.24% on 2026-10-01, the latest published observation. Shared by every model in this tracker.	5.2%	US 10Y Treasury constant maturity (FRED DGS10): 5.24% on 2026-10-01, the latest published observation. Shared by every model in this tracker.
BetaYahoo Finance / yfinance published beta (5Y monthly): Published 5-year monthly beta 1.679, used as published, NOT normalized. It is high for Qualcomm's history — the window holds the 2022 semiconductor drawdown, a 52-week range of $121.99-$259.92, and single-day moves of +15% (Investor Day, 2026-06-24) and -6% (2026-09-28). There is an argument that a licensing-anchored company deserves lower, but the stock has genuinely traded like a leveraged semiconductor name, and this tracker uses published betas for AMD (1.6), NVDA (1.86) and AVGO (1.457). THIS IS THE SINGLE LARGEST LEVER: beta 1.3 gives ~$91/share and 1.0 gives ~$111. Normalizing down would raise the value; I did not.	1.68	Yahoo Finance / yfinance published beta (5Y monthly): Published 5-year monthly beta 1.679, used as published, NOT normalized. It is high for Qualcomm's history — the window holds the 2022 semiconductor drawdown, a 52-week range of $121.99-$259.92, and single-day moves of +15% (Investor Day, 2026-06-24) and -6% (2026-09-28). There is an argument that a licensing-anchored company deserves lower, but the stock has genuinely traded like a leveraged semiconductor name, and this tracker uses published betas for AMD (1.6), NVDA (1.86) and AVGO (1.457). THIS IS THE SINGLE LARGEST LEVER: beta 1.3 gives ~$91/share and 1.0 gives ~$111. Normalizing down would raise the value; I did not.
Terminal growthESTIMATEAssumption — house default: House default 2.5% (roughly long-run nominal GDP), kept for comparability. No strong reason to deviate: the handset royalty base is mature, data center and auto are not. Well below the 13.0% WACC; 2.0% costs ~$2.70/share.	2.5%	ESTIMATEAssumption — house default: House default 2.5% (roughly long-run nominal GDP), kept for comparability. No strong reason to deviate: the handset royalty base is mature, data center and auto are not. Well below the 13.0% WACC; 2.0% costs ~$2.70/share.
Diluted sharesQCOM Q3 FY2026 earnings release, 8-K Ex-99.1 (accession 0000804328-26-000085, filed 2026-07-29): Q3 FY2026 weighted-average diluted shares 1,069M (nine months 1,073M; FY2025 1,105M). Period-end outstanding was 1,057M (1,074M at FY2025 year-end + 25M issued - 42M repurchased). Two KNOWN post-quarter items are NOT in this count and both dilute: (1) ~18M shares issued for Modular on 2026-07-28 (about 1.7%; Q4 buybacks have since offset much of it — yfinance shows 1,068M outstanding); (2) the Amazon warrant (8-K 2026-09-08) for up to 25M shares at $161.26, of which 3.75M vested on issuance. Using the house rule (latest-quarter weighted diluted count) OVERSTATES per-share value by roughly 1%.	1,069M	QCOM Q3 FY2026 earnings release, 8-K Ex-99.1 (accession 0000804328-26-000085, filed 2026-07-29): Q3 FY2026 weighted-average diluted shares 1,069M (nine months 1,073M; FY2025 1,105M). Period-end outstanding was 1,057M (1,074M at FY2025 year-end + 25M issued - 42M repurchased). Two KNOWN post-quarter items are NOT in this count and both dilute: (1) ~18M shares issued for Modular on 2026-07-28 (about 1.7%; Q4 buybacks have since offset much of it — yfinance shows 1,068M outstanding); (2) the Amazon warrant (8-K 2026-09-08) for up to 25M shares at $161.26, of which 3.75M vested on issuance. Using the house rule (latest-quarter weighted diluted count) OVERSTATES per-share value by roughly 1%.
Market priceDelayed quote · as of 2026-10-19 13:54 UTC	$172.11	Delayed quote · as of 2026-10-19 13:54 UTC

Change QCOM's assumptions

The discount-rate dial and the editable model

Pro

Change growth, margin and WACC yourself — Pro (7-day free trial, card required).

Start free trial Try it on Apple

What does QUALCOMM Incorporated do?

What does it do?

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). It operates in the Semiconductors industry (Technology sector), headquartered in United States. The company employs roughly 52,000 people.

How does it make money?

The business turns $44.1B in annual revenue into profit. Out of every $100 of sales, about $19 is left as operating profit (operating margin of 18.5%), after a 54% gross margin on the products/services it sells. After all costs, taxes and interest, 21.0% of revenue becomes bottom-line net profit.

Is it financially healthy?

Financially it looks solid: carries modest debt (0.6× equity), comfortably covers its short-term bills (2.0× current ratio), and is currently profitable.

Who at QCOM filed insider trades?

Recent insider filings for QUALCOMM Incorporated
Date	Insider	Relationship	What happened	Value	Filing
16 Oct 2026	CHAPLIN ANN C	EVP, GenCounsel&CorpSecretary	Open-market sale	$319,268.25	Form 4 for CHAPLIN ANN C (opens sec.gov in a new tab)
15 Oct 2026	ROGERS ALEXANDER H	EVP, Pres QTL & Global Affairs	Option exercise	—	Form 4 for ROGERS ALEXANDER H (opens sec.gov in a new tab)
15 Oct 2026	ROGERS ALEXANDER H	EVP, Pres QTL & Global Affairs	Shares withheld (tax)	$339,138.40	Form 4 for ROGERS ALEXANDER H (opens sec.gov in a new tab)
15 Oct 2026	Palkhiwala Akash J.	EVP, CFO & COO	Option exercise	—	Form 4 for Palkhiwala Akash J. (opens sec.gov in a new tab)
15 Oct 2026	Palkhiwala Akash J.	EVP, CFO & COO	Shares withheld (tax)	$582,832.80	Form 4 for Palkhiwala Akash J. (opens sec.gov in a new tab)
15 Oct 2026	CHAPLIN ANN C	EVP, GenCounsel&CorpSecretary	Option exercise	—	Form 4 for CHAPLIN ANN C (opens sec.gov in a new tab)

A disclosure, not a signal to trade. Source: SEC EDGAR (Form 4). Older filings and the 90-day buying-and-selling read are part of Pro. See plans

Common questions

What is QCOM's intrinsic value?
TickerWorth's valuation lenses put QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) between $73.91 and $310.00 per share, versus a market price of $172.11. For a cyclical we value through the cycle we publish a range only (peer multiples and our researched mid-cycle DCF): where in the cycle the business sits decides where in that range it lands, and a single figure would claim we know that precisely.
Is QCOM overvalued or undervalued?
At $172.11 the price sits inside a range too wide to call either way. We don't call QCOM overvalued or undervalued from a range. This is an educational estimate, not advice.
What discount rate is used for QCOM?
A WACC of 13.0% and a terminal growth rate of 2.5%.
Is QUALCOMM stock undervalued?
TickerWorth's fair-value range for QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) is $73.91 – $310.00 against a market price of $172.11. Too wide to call. We publish a range here, not one number, so we do not call it over- or undervalued. This is a model estimate, not investment advice.
QUALCOMM (QCOM) DCF valuation and fair value
Our fair-value range for QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) is $73.91 – $310.00, built on a 13.0% discount rate (WACC) and 2.5% terminal growth. It blends our discounted-cash-flow model with other valuation lenses. Every assumption is listed on this page with its source.
What growth is priced into QUALCOMM stock?
Today's price implies revenue growth of more than 25%/yr. Above about 25% a year the reverse-DCF stops being informative. It solves for revenue growth alone — holding margins, capital intensity and the forecast horizon fixed — so a price well above our cash-flow model's value has nowhere to go but growth, and the solver returns a rate the model can't reconcile. Read it as "the price implies growth we can't justify", not as a forecast. This is a reverse DCF: it holds our cash-flow model's other inputs and solves for the revenue growth that makes the model equal today's price of $172.11. A model estimate, not investment advice.
QUALCOMM (QCOM) insider trading
The most recent insider filing (SEC Form 4) for QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM): CHAPLIN ANN C, EVP, GenCounsel&CorpSecretary, open-market sale on 2026-10-16. The latest filings are listed on this page. A disclosure, not a signal to trade.