Multiple Negatives Hang Over Qualcomm This Earnings Season

With the company set to report earnings on Wednesday after the market close, shareholders of Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) are bracing themselves for what could be a tough quarter. According to Estimize, Wall Street consensus expectations are calling for earnings per share (EPS) of $0.94 on revenue of $5.76 billion.

However, not all analysts see eye-to-eye when it comes to Qualcomm. Here’s what analysts at five leading firms have to say about Qualcomm.

Macquarie

Analyst Deepon Nag believes “near-term estimates appear to have troughed,” but expresses his concern over Qualcomm’s longer-term fundamentals. Macquarie has a Neutral rating on Qualcomm and a $70 target for the stock.

WR Hambrecht & Co

Analyst Srini Sundararajan believes Qualcomm could be in the market for an acquisition. “QCOM has limited experience building ARM multi-cores which is where an acquisition may be helpful,” Sundararajan wrote back in June.

Cannacord

Analyst Michael Walkley sees a mostly in-line quarter for Qualcomm and is calling for EPS of $0.93 on $5.76 billion in revenue.

Cannacord recently lowered its price target on Qualcomm’s stock to $77, citing “weaker high-end Android smartphone sales versus ongoing strong iPhone sales combined with softer overall China OEM smartphone sales.”

Credit Suisse

Analyst Kulbinder Garcha is predicting a slight beat by Qualcomm and is forecasting EPS of $0.96 on $5.8 billion in revenue. Despite near-term weakness, Garcha believes “EPS growth will reaccelerate in FY16.”

Cowen & Co

Analyst Timothy Arcuri sees “clearly intensifying” QCT competition, but views Qualcomm’s recently-announced accelerated share repurchase program as a “sign of confidence in the company’s ability to turn things around.”

Cowen has an Outperform rating on Qualcomm and a $75 target for the stock.