Qualcomm rises on smartphone rebound hopes with data-centre chip push

Qualcomm shares rise 15% as CEO signals smartphone rebound and confirms data centre chip push despite weak outlook.

•Shares jump 15% despite revenue and EPS guidance missing estimates

•CEO calls smartphone market bottom and confirms data centre chip entry

The fact

Qualcomm shares rose 15% in extended trading after forecasting Q3 revenue of $9.2–$10 billion versus $10.27 billion expected, and adjusted EPS of $2.10–$2.30 versus $2.45 estimates. CEO Cristiano Amon said smartphone demand will rebound after fiscal Q3, stating the market has reached a bottom. Qualcomm also confirmed plans to ship data centre chips, including CPUs, inference accelerators and ASICs.

The Assessment

The share rise signals investors are prioritising forward demand over current earnings weakness. The guidance miss confirms ongoing smartphone demand pressure, but Amon's bottom call provides a near-term recovery signal. Data centre chip plans add a future demand source linked to cloud providers expanding inference capacity.