New York, January 5, 2026, 15:02 EST — Regular session
- Qualcomm shares rose about 1.7% in afternoon trading as CES announcements highlighted automotive software, PCs and robotics.
- Qualcomm Technologies and Google expanded their automotive collaboration, pointing to long-term software support and “agentic AI.”
- Investors are watching for more CES design wins and Qualcomm’s Feb. 4 earnings for signals on demand beyond smartphones.
Qualcomm Incorporated shares rose on Monday after the chip designer and Alphabet’s Google broadened their automotive partnership at CES in Las Vegas. The stock was up about 1.7% at $175.96 in afternoon trade, after rising as much as 3.4% earlier.
The announcements matter because Qualcomm is trying to deepen its foothold outside handsets, where demand can swing sharply with upgrade cycles. Automakers and Windows PCs are longer-cycle markets, and investors tend to reward visibility when it comes with big-platform partners and repeatable software revenue.
CES is also an early-year litmus test for who is winning design slots for next-generation devices. For chipmakers, those early design wins can shape order books and expectations well ahead of earnings calls.
Qualcomm Technologies and Google said the expanded relationship will integrate Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis hardware with Google’s automotive software, with a focus on “agentic AI” — software agents designed to plan and take actions, not just answer prompts. They also pointed to a 10-year plan for critical software updates, a push meant to reduce the cost and complexity of keeping cars current through over-the-air updates. MarketScreener
“This collaboration allows us to integrate our leading software and AI capabilities with Qualcomm Technologies’ foundational hardware,” Patrick Brady, Google’s vice president of engineering, said. MarketScreener
On PCs, Qualcomm rolled out the Snapdragon X2 Plus alongside its higher-end X2 Elite line, positioning the chips as a direct challenge to Intel and AMD in thin-and-light Windows laptops. The Verge reported that PCs using X2 Elite and X2 Plus chips are expected around the end of the first quarter, and noted Qualcomm is not committing to specific laptop price points amid a global RAM shortage; it highlighted the chips’ 80 TOPS AI engine, with TOPS short for “trillions of operations per second,” a rough measure of AI compute throughput.
Qualcomm also leaned into robotics, unveiling its Dragonwing 1Q10 — an 18-core CPU pitched for “physical AI,” a term used for AI that runs in machines that sense and act in the real world. The Association for Advancing Automation said Qualcomm is aiming at Nvidia’s Jetson ecosystem and listed launch partners that include industrial robot maker Kuka and humanoid-robot firm Figure. Automate
The broader chip complex was higher as CES opened, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up about 0.9% in afternoon trading. Markets are also eyeing CES keynotes later on Monday, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s speech scheduled for 4 p.m. EST.
Technically, Qualcomm’s shares are trading above their 50-day moving average of about $173 and above the 200-day near $159, according to StockAnalysis data — a setup traders often read as constructive momentum.
But CES headlines do not guarantee shipments. Automotive programs can take years to scale, and Qualcomm’s PC push still hinges on laptop makers setting competitive prices and delivering smooth software support against entrenched x86 rivals.
Next up, investors will watch for any additional CES design-win announcements through the week and for Qualcomm’s fiscal first-quarter earnings conference call scheduled for Feb. 4 at 1:45 p.m. PT.
