Qualcomm Stock Drops Over 5% on Profit-Taking and Smartphone Business Concerns

Qualcomm (QCOM) shares slid more than 5% in afternoon trading on September 18, sharply underperforming the broader market as a combination of profit-taking, competitive pressures, and macroeconomic concerns weighed on the chipmaker.

Profit-Taking Halts Recent Rally

The stock's decline followed a significant run-up, with shares having surged roughly 18% over the prior month. According to an analysis by Investing.com, this rapid appreciation left Qualcomm's valuation stretched and vulnerable to a pullback, particularly in the absence of any fresh positive catalysts to sustain the momentum. The selling pressure pushed the stock from an opening price of $192.12 toward a session low of $175.97.

Core Smartphone Business Faces Headwinds

Adding to the pressure were persistent concerns about Qualcomm's core handset business. The company's outlook was clouded by two key developments:

Ad

• Apple's Modem Shift: During its fiscal Q3 2026 earnings call, Qualcomm disclosed that its share of Apple's latest iPhone launch would be "materially lower" than its previous estimate of 20%. This reinforced investor concerns about the long-term revenue impact of Apple's strategic shift toward using its own in-house modem technology.
• Samsung Competition: On the competitive front, Samsung's Exynos processor line captured 9% of the global smartphone application processor market in Q2 2026, its highest share since 2024. Qualcomm's shipments declined year-over-year as some base models of the Samsung Galaxy S26 smartphone line moved to the Exynos 2600 chip.

Macro Pressures and Sector Jitters

A less favorable macroeconomic backdrop also contributed to the sell-off. Hawkish repricing of Federal Reserve rate expectations put pressure on high-multiple technology stocks. Simultaneously, a rout in South Korean memory chipmakers on concerns about slowing AI-related expansion rattled the broader semiconductor complex.

While the SOXX semiconductor ETF managed to hold onto gains, the negative sentiment was disproportionately concentrated in Qualcomm and its radio frequency (RF) peers. The chipmaker's 5.4% drop stood in stark contrast to the relatively flat performance of the wider market, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite up just 0.1%.