Qualcomm (QCOM) Stock Surges 9% to All-Time High on Tariff Pause and Data Center Plans

TLDR

• Qualcomm stock surged over 9% on May 11, hitting an all-time intraday high of $247.90
• Q2 FY26 earnings beat estimates with EPS of $2.65 vs. the $2.56 consensus, on revenue of $10.60 billion
• CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed data center chip shipments to a “large hyperscaler” are planned for 2026
• A US-China 90-day tariff pause eased concerns over China handset inventory, supporting the rally
• Multiple analysts raised price targets, with Daiwa upgrading QCOM to Outperform with a $225 target

Qualcomm (QCOM) stock hit an all-time intraday high of $247.90 on May 11, 2026, trading up over 9% on the session at around $239.24. That would mark the first record closing high for QCOM since June 18, 2024.

QUALCOMM Incorporated, QCOM

The move puts Qualcomm up over 42% in just five consecutive trading sessions — and up 33% month-to-date.

The rally has been building since the company reported Q2 FY26 earnings on April 29th. Qualcomm posted EPS of $2.65, beating the analyst consensus of $2.56, on revenue of $10.60 billion — just above estimates.

But the earnings beat wasn’t the main event.

CEO Cristiano Amon disclosed that Qualcomm would begin shipping data center chips to “a large hyperscaler” before the end of calendar year 2026. That single line reframed how the market views Qualcomm’s long-term earnings power.

The stock was already moving higher when the US-China 90-day tariff pause arrived and gave it another leg up. Qualcomm had flagged Q3 guidance of $9.2–$10.0 billion in revenue, partly due to China handset inventory adjustments. The tariff pause directly removes that headwind, stabilizing the Android upgrade cycle in Qualcomm’s biggest handset market.

Analyst Upgrades Pile In

Daiwa upgraded QCOM to Outperform from Neutral, raising its price target to $225 from $140. Tigress Financial lifted its target to $280, keeping a Buy. Benchmark raised its target to $225 from $200 with a Buy rating. Roth MKM started coverage with a Buy as well.

The capital return program also got a boost — Qualcomm added $20 billion in share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.89 to $0.92 per share.

Automotive Hits Record

Qualcomm’s automotive segment posted a record $1.33 billion in Q2 FY26 revenue, up 38% year over year. That’s another piece of the diversification story the market is buying into.

QCOM is up 57% from a year ago and has nearly doubled from its 52-week closing low of $124.07, hit on April 7, 2026.

The next major catalyst on the calendar is Qualcomm’s Investor Day on June 24, where management is expected to give more detail on the data center opportunity. QCOM was the best-performing stock in both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 on May 11, and the fourth most active by volume in both indexes.

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