QCOM
QUALCOMM Incorporated
QCOM offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
STX
Seagate Technology Holdings plc
STX has the edge over QCOM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
QCOM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
QCOM's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
STX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
STX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
QCOM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $175 | -1.1% |
| Current | 14x | $177 | — |
| Fair | 20x | $248 | +40% |
| Expensive | 26x | $333 | +88% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
QCOM has the edge over STX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
STX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.9x | $188 | -65% |
| Forward | 12x | $545 | — |
| Fair | 17x | $318 | -42% |
| Current | 29x | $545 | — |
| Expensive | 43x | $823 | +51% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STX's PE is in its expensive range at 29x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
QCOM Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for QCOM to show an outlook.
STX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for STX, with profitability improving.
QCOM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.70 | +153% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.76 | -15% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.32 | -4.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.96 | -47% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.01 | -44% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.35 | +34% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.80 | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.34 | +35% |
QCOM earned $12.70 per share over the past year, up 153% from the year before.
STX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $46.99 | +147% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.06 | +145% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.90 | +105% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.54 | +51% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.84 | +60% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.79 | +101% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.77 | +328% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.96 | +$8.26 |
| Q4 2024 | $5.51 | +$9.02 |
STX has the edge over QCOM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
QCOM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $10.3B | -8.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.9B | -4% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.6B | -3.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $12.3B | +5% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.4B | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $11B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.7B | +17% |
QCOM's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $10.3B last quarter, down 8.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | -13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | -10 points |
| Q1 2026 | 22% | -6.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 27% | -3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +0.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +3.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +1 points |
QCOM's operating margin was 13% last quarter, down 13 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
STX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.2B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.6B | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.1B | +44% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.8B | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.6B | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.4B | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.2B | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +50% |
STX has the edge over QCOM on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 49% | +22 points |
| Q2 2026 | 43% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | +8.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +7.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +6.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +11 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +13 points |
STX has the edge over QCOM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
QCOM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8B | -49% |
| Q2 2026 | $495M | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.9B | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.4B | +2.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.6B | +50% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | -3.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.3B | -31% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.3B | +58% |
QCOM's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $8.7B over the past year, down 33% from the year before.
STX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B | +246% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.1B | +163% |
| Q1 2026 | $953M | +341% |
| Q4 2025 | $607M | +305% |
| Q3 2025 | $427M | +1481% |
| Q2 2025 | $425M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $216M | +69% |
| Q4 2024 | $150M | +52% |
STX has the edge over QCOM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
QCOM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +4M shares |
| 1 year | -2.9% | -32M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -53M shares |
| 5 years | -6.6% | -76M shares |
| Available history | -7.4% | -86M shares |
QCOM has the edge over STX on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.4B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $2.4B |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B |
QCOM spent $7.8B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 11% from the year before.
STX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.3% | +3M shares |
| 1 year | +2.7% | +6M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +24M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -33M shares |
STX has 232M diluted shares, up 2.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $400M |
| Q2 2026 | $117M |
| Q1 2026 | $30M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $29M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
STX spent $547M buying back its own shares over the past year.
QCOM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4x | Very low |
QCOM's net debt is about a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year a year ago.
STX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
STX has the edge over QCOM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
QCOM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.2 | Neutral |
QCOM's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 40 (neutral).
STX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.3 | Oversold |
STX's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
QCOM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | QCOM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 28x | 50% below |
| PE % | 17 | 35 | 18 pts below |
QCOM has the edge over STX on valuation relative to its sector.
STX PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | STX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 28x | 2.7% above |
| PE % | 75 | 35 | 40 pts above |
STX is trading at 29x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x.
QCOM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $177.2 | 0% below |
| 20 week MA | $172.8 | 2.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $170.7 | 3.8% above |
| 100 week MA | $164.3 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $155.1 | 14% above |
QCOM has the edge over STX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
STX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $683.6 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $785.0 | 31% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.7 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $387.3 | 41% above |
| 200 week MA | $234.4 | 133% above |
STX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 133% above its 200-week average.
QCOM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $88.8 | $148.8 | +68% |
| 2021 | $148.8 | $182.7 | +23% |
| 2022 | $182.7 | $110.8 | -39% |
| 2023 | $110.8 | $144.6 | +30% |
| 2024 | $144.6 | $157.2 | +8.7% |
| 2025 | $157.2 | $174.8 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $174.8 | $177.1 | +1.3% |
QCOM has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 1.3% so far in 2026.
STX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $59.6 | $63.0 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | $63.0 | $111.4 | +77% |
| 2022 | $111.4 | $50.5 | -55% |
| 2023 | $50.5 | $85.4 | +69% |
| 2024 | $85.4 | $87.4 | +2.4% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $286.2 | +228% |
| 2026 YTD | $286.2 | $545.1 | +90% |
STX has the edge over QCOM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.