Qualcomm (QCOM) Q2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Second quarter fiscal 2026 revenue was $10.6 billion, down 3% year-over-year, with non-GAAP EPS of $2.65 at the high end of guidance and GAAP EPS of $6.88, driven by a $5.7 billion income tax benefit from the release of a valuation allowance.

• QCT revenues were $9.1 billion (down 4% YoY), including record automotive and growing IoT revenues; QTL licensing revenue was $1.4 billion (up 5% YoY).

• Strategic focus on agentic AI workloads, automotive, IoT, and data center diversification, with entry into the data center market via Alphawave acquisition and a leading hyperscaler engagement.

• Significant progress in automotive, with annualized revenues surpassing $5 billion and expected to exceed $6 billion by fiscal year-end; automotive revenues grew 38% YoY to $1.33 billion.

• Announced multiple strategic collaborations and product launches across automotive, AI, IoT, and robotics, including partnerships with Wayve, Bosch, NEURA Robotics, and Arduino.

Financial highlights

• Q2 non-GAAP revenues were $10.6 billion, down 2–3% YoY; non-GAAP EBT was $3.25 billion, down 12% YoY; non-GAAP EPS was $2.65, down 7% YoY.

• GAAP net income rose 162% YoY to $7.37 billion, driven by the $5.7 billion tax benefit; GAAP diluted EPS increased 173% to $6.88.

• QCT IoT revenues grew 9% YoY to $1.73 billion; automotive revenues hit a record $1.33 billion, up 38% YoY.

• Returned $3.7 billion to shareholders in Q2 via $2.8 billion in share repurchases and $945 million in dividends; $5.4 billion in share repurchases completed in the first half of fiscal 2026.

• Operating income was $2.31 billion, down from $3.12 billion YoY; cash and cash equivalents at quarter-end were $5.4 billion.

Outlook and guidance

• Q3 fiscal 2026 revenue guidance: $9.2–$10.0 billion; non-GAAP EPS: $2.10–$2.30.

• QCT handset revenues from Chinese customers expected to bottom in Q3 and return to sequential growth in Q4.

• QTL revenue guidance: $1.15–$1.35 billion; EBT margin: 67%–71%.

• QCT revenue guidance: $7.9–$8.5 billion; EBT margin: 25%–27%.

• Guidance reflects ongoing memory supply constraints and related pricing impacts.