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Will Qualcomm's Automotive Business Continue Driving Top-Line Growth?
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Key Takeaways
Qualcomm automotive revenues reached a record $1.33B in Q2 FY26, up 38% year over year.
QCOM plans fifth-gen Snapdragon Digital Chassis shipments by FY26-end with major performance gains.
Qualcomm expects automotive revenue growth to accelerate to about 50% year over year in Q3 FY26.
Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM - Free Report) is benefiting from strong traction in the automotive business. Automotive revenue reaches a record $1.33 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, up 38% year over year. There are several factors driving this growth.
Growth is being fueled by its fourth-generation Snapdragon Digital Chassis, which integrates multiple vehicle technologies into one platform, including connectivity, telematics, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Qualcomm reported that more than 1 million vehicles are already operating using Snapdragon Ride processors for ADAS and autonomous driving. The company expects continued share gains in fiscal 2027, particularly in ADAS. It boasts a worldwide client base that includes leading automakers and technology companies like Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Mobis, Leapmotor, Li Auto and several other OEMs.
By the end of fiscal 2026, Qualcomm plans to begin commercial shipments of its fifth-generation Snapdragon Digital Chassis. Compared to prior generations, the platform will offer 3x higher CPU performance, 3x higher GPU capability and 12x higher NPU performance.
Qualcomm’s automotive revenue exceeded an annualized run rate of $5 billion for the first time. It expects to exit fiscal 2026 at a run rate above $6 billion. Third quarter fiscal 2026 automotive revenue is expected to grow approximately 50% year over year, faster than the 38% growth reported in the second quarter.
How Are Competitors Faring?
The company faces competition from NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) in this domain. NVIDIA continues to build a longer-duration growth option in automotive, robotics and other physical AI applications. In 2026, NVIDIA announced multiple automotive and mobility partnerships at the GTC 2026, with BYD, Geely, Isuzu, Nissan, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia adopting or expanding use of its DRIVE Hyperion platform to develop Level 4 and next-generation autonomous vehicles, alongside broader robotaxi ecosystem collaborations.
The acquisition of Mobileye has helped the company to rapidly penetrate the autonomous car technology market, currently dominated by the likes of NVIDIA and Qualcomm. With the buyout, Intel has gained access to Mobileye’s technologies related to cameras, in-car networking, sensor chips, roadway mapping, cloud software, machine learning and data management. This has increased its customer base and augmented its top-line growth.
QCOM’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Qualcomm shares have gained 17.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 75%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 17.1 forward earnings, lower than 32.39 for the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 have remained unchanged, and those for 2027 have increased over the past 60 days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Will Qualcomm's Automotive Business Continue Driving Top-Line Growth?
Key Takeaways
Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM - Free Report) is benefiting from strong traction in the automotive business. Automotive revenue reaches a record $1.33 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, up 38% year over year. There are several factors driving this growth.
Growth is being fueled by its fourth-generation Snapdragon Digital Chassis, which integrates multiple vehicle technologies into one platform, including connectivity, telematics, digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Qualcomm reported that more than 1 million vehicles are already operating using Snapdragon Ride processors for ADAS and autonomous driving. The company expects continued share gains in fiscal 2027, particularly in ADAS. It boasts a worldwide client base that includes leading automakers and technology companies like Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Mobis, Leapmotor, Li Auto and several other OEMs.
By the end of fiscal 2026, Qualcomm plans to begin commercial shipments of its fifth-generation Snapdragon Digital Chassis. Compared to prior generations, the platform will offer 3x higher CPU performance, 3x higher GPU capability and 12x higher NPU performance.
Qualcomm’s automotive revenue exceeded an annualized run rate of $5 billion for the first time. It expects to exit fiscal 2026 at a run rate above $6 billion. Third quarter fiscal 2026 automotive revenue is expected to grow approximately 50% year over year, faster than the 38% growth reported in the second quarter.
How Are Competitors Faring?
The company faces competition from NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) in this domain. NVIDIA continues to build a longer-duration growth option in automotive, robotics and other physical AI applications. In 2026, NVIDIA announced multiple automotive and mobility partnerships at the GTC 2026, with BYD, Geely, Isuzu, Nissan, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia adopting or expanding use of its DRIVE Hyperion platform to develop Level 4 and next-generation autonomous vehicles, alongside broader robotaxi ecosystem collaborations.
The acquisition of Mobileye has helped the company to rapidly penetrate the autonomous car technology market, currently dominated by the likes of NVIDIA and Qualcomm. With the buyout, Intel has gained access to Mobileye’s technologies related to cameras, in-car networking, sensor chips, roadway mapping, cloud software, machine learning and data management. This has increased its customer base and augmented its top-line growth.
QCOM’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Qualcomm shares have gained 17.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 75%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 17.1 forward earnings, lower than 32.39 for the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 have remained unchanged, and those for 2027 have increased over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Qualcomm stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.