NEW YORK, April 27, 2026, 06:31 EDT
- Qualcomm shares jumped in premarket after analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that OpenAI is teaming up with Qualcomm and MediaTek on processors for smartphones.
- Qualcomm is set to report its fiscal second-quarter results after the bell on April 29, with the move landing just ahead of that release.
- The risk here: OpenAI’s device report is still early—companies haven’t confirmed anything, and that analyst report points out mass production wouldn’t even kick off until 2028.
Qualcomm shares surged more than 10% in premarket action, making it the standout U.S. stock to watch—and, for traders scanning headlines, potentially the top buy of the day—after a report linked the chip giant to OpenAI’s ambitions in smartphone hardware. According to Reuters, Qualcomm was up 10.6% ahead of the bell, easily outstripping the subdued moves in futures.
Timing is crucial. Index futures opened the week flat, oil ticked up, and traders zeroed in on upcoming Big Tech results alongside the Fed’s call. In a market like this, one company with an AI driver can grab outsized attention.
OpenAI is teaming up with Qualcomm and MediaTek on smartphone chips, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who cited industry sources. Luxshare, he said, will take on co-design and manufacturing duties. Mass production isn’t expected until 2028, per Investing.com, so for now, this looks more like a long-term wager on Qualcomm’s role in the AI hardware race than a short-term needle-mover.
According to Kuo, as cited in market reports, AI phones could shake up how quickly consumers upgrade their devices. For Qualcomm, that’s the straightforward bet right now: this isn’t simply another chip deal for phones, but potentially a crack at a fresh device segment, pulling more processing onto the handset itself.
There’s another reason Qualcomm is drawing attention right now. The company is set to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, April 29. Its conference call kicks off at 1:45 p.m. Pacific, according to Qualcomm. For investors, that’s a chance to weigh the OpenAI headlines against actual figures—think handsets, automotive chips, margins.
The mixed peer read is part of the story behind today’s action. MediaTek showed up in the OpenAI processor report along with Qualcomm. Apple still looms as a bigger, longer-term concern for Qualcomm, since it’s both a major customer and a competitor in custom silicon, and Samsung’s own chip push adds to the pressure, according to Reuters earlier this year.
Intel added another 2.7% ahead of the open, building on its 23.6% surge from the prior session, according to Reuters. The chipmaker’s rally follows an earnings bounce of its own. Qualcomm, meanwhile, trades on a different narrative this Monday—potential OpenAI hardware ties, right before its results hit.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing. Back in February, Qualcomm flagged a global memory-chip crunch squeezing smartphone demand. “I just wish we had more memory,” CEO Cristiano Amon told Reuters. The chipmaker projected second-quarter revenue in the $10.2 billion to $11 billion range, missing what Wall Street had penciled in. Reuters
Qualcomm’s efforts to move beyond phones haven’t slowed. In March, the company rolled out a $20 billion stock buyback and bumped its quarterly dividend up to 92 cents per share. CEO Amon said the goal is still to drive stockholder returns while also pursuing “diversification opportunities.” Reuters
QCOM stands out as the stock with the freshest bull case on the board today—though not necessarily the safest. There’s a live catalyst here: a key earnings report is on the horizon, shareholder payouts are steady, and QCOM has direct skin in the AI-device game just as appetite for AI picks up again. William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal told Reuters equity players “are back on the AI technology trade,” while commodity markets are reacting differently to the Iran risk. Reuters
Here’s the catch: Qualcomm and OpenAI haven’t said a word about working together on smartphone chips, and any mass production isn’t coming until 2028—hardly around the corner. Should earnings on Wednesday reveal more trouble for handsets, tighter margins, or sluggish movement beyond mobile chips, that OpenAI-driven bump from Monday could disappear quickly.
