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Luke Kawa

Qualcomm becomes latest chip company to dip despite posting impressive quarterly results

Qualcomm reported a beat on the top and bottom lines in its fiscal fourth quarter, along with a bright outlook for the start of its next fiscal year.

Here are the Q4 results:

  • Revenues: $11.27 billion (compared to Wall Street’s estimate of $10.77 billion and guidance for about $10.7 billion)

  • Adjusted earnings per share: $3 (estimate: $2.88, guidance: ~$2.85)

Its guidance for the current quarter (fiscal Q1 2026) was stellar:

  • Revenues: $12.2 billion (estimate: $11.59 billion)

  • Adjusted earnings per share: $3.40 (estimate: $3.26)

Shares soared today ahead of the release, outperforming peers in a broad-based rebound for semiconductor stocks. Qualcomm has declined in the session following each of its past five earnings reports. So far, the reaction is more of the same: shares are down more than 2% in premarket trading on Thursday.

It joins the likes of Advanced Micro Devices and Micron in the category of chip stocks that had their wings briefly clipped in the knee-jerk reaction to solid earnings.

Qualcomm is readying itself for a bigger push in the AI market, having recently announced new chips for data centers expected to be available in 2026 and 2027, with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN as the first big buyer.

The chips that go in smartphones are still Qualcomm’s biggest business, but gauging potential demand for these upcoming chips may assume more prominence for the company in the quarters to come.

Bank of America analyst Kevin Niderpruem boosted his price target on the semiconductor company to $215 from $200 following this report.

The strong results are supported by handset strength in China, attributed to timing of the Chinese holiday and product launches, as well as solid performance in non-handsets and long-term opportunities in data centers,” he writes.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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