New York, January 15, 2026, 20:52 EST — Market closed.
- Shares of Qualcomm dropped 1.9% on Thursday, marking their fifth consecutive day of losses.
- Volkswagen and Qualcomm have inked a letter of intent to establish a long-term chip supply deal beginning in 2027.
- Attention turns to Feb. 4 earnings, where investors will look for clues on handsets, Apple exposure, and the company’s newer moves into PCs and autos.
Qualcomm shares dropped 1.9% on Thursday, closing at $161.39. This marks the chipmaker’s fifth day in a row of declines, trailing a mostly steady U.S. market. The S&P 500 gained 0.26%, and the Dow rose 0.60%. Qualcomm fell behind rivals like Nvidia and Broadcom, while Intel also slipped. 1
The slide is notable as semiconductors gain fresh momentum from AI, with investors honing in on select firms. Taiwan Semiconductor raised its 2026 capital expenditure target to $52 billion-$56 billion, surpassing Visible Alpha’s estimates. That move has fueled a surge in chipmakers and their suppliers. “The market has underestimated again how large is the demand for AI,” said Han Dieperink, chief investment officer at Aureus, which holds shares in ASML. 2
Qualcomm has new automotive developments to tout. Volkswagen Group and Qualcomm Technologies inked a letter of intent for a long-term supply deal starting in 2027. Qualcomm will supply high-performance systems-on-chips (SoCs)—which integrate key computing tasks—for infotainment, connectivity, and automated driving, according to IAA Mobility. Volkswagen aims to base its next software-defined vehicle (SDV) architecture—that is, cars built to gain new features via software updates—on Qualcomm’s “Snapdragon Digital Chassis,” the report said. 3
The market remains focused on the short term. Mizuho’s Vijay Rakesh downgraded Qualcomm from Outperform to Neutral, slashing the price target from $200 to $175. He flagged handset exposure as a potential cap on gains. In his note, Rakesh cited “Lower estimates” and softer forecasts for iPhone-related content. 4
Barron’s highlighted the broker’s warning about Apple’s move to produce more components internally, including modems, as a major threat. Mizuho’s analysis suggests this shift could jeopardize roughly $3 billion of Qualcomm’s $8.8 billion in Apple-related revenue for fiscal 2025. It also predicts an 8% drop in Apple smartphone sales in 2026. 5
Qualcomm is pushing beyond smartphones. At CES this month, Qualcomm Technologies rolled out the Snapdragon X2 Plus platform for Windows 11 “Copilot+” laptops — Microsoft’s branding for AI-ready PCs — focusing on more AI processing done locally rather than relying on the cloud. “Modern professionals and creators want to do more, create more,” said Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of computing and gaming at Qualcomm Technologies. The company said the platform features its third-generation Oryon CPU and an NPU rated at 80 TOPS, a key metric for AI performance, with select devices expected in the first half of 2026. 6
Friday’s session doubles as a positioning test before the long weekend. With U.S. stock exchanges closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, per the NYSE calendar, trading may thin out and moves into the close could get stretched. 7
Qualcomm’s outlook remains shaky: investors need clear signs that autos and PCs will grow quickly enough to offset any weakness in its handset chip and licensing businesses. If the guidance is conservative, or if clients speed up moving to in-house components, the stock could keep sliding into February.
Traders are now waiting to see if the Volkswagen headline sparks dip buying on Friday or gets overlooked amid fresh analyst updates and sector shifts. The chip sector has been cooling off from AI-driven demand, with Qualcomm failing to catch a lift this week.
Qualcomm’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call is set for Feb. 4. 8
