Does Qualcomm’s Recent 5G Partnerships Point to a Hidden Bargain in 2025?

Ever wondered if QUALCOMM's current stock price is truly a bargain, or if there's more value hiding just beneath the surface? The stock has experienced some movement recently, dipping 2.3% over the last week, but still climbing 4.7% over the past month and 12.7% year-to-date. This suggests the market is actively reassessing its growth potential or risks. Recent headlines have highlighted ongoing developments in 5G technology and strategic partnerships across the semiconductor sector. These factors have fueled renewed interest in QUALCOMM and are keeping investors alert as the company establishes its position in a rapidly evolving market. On our valuation checklist, QUALCOMM scores a 4 out of 6 for being undervalued, which is a signal worth examining further. We will walk through what that actually means using popular valuation yardsticks, but there is an even more insightful way to judge value coming up later in the article.

Find out why QUALCOMM's 2.4% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers.

Approach 1: QUALCOMM Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is a widely used valuation technique that estimates a company's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and discounting them back to today's value. This method aims to determine what QUALCOMM is realistically worth based on expected cash generation, regardless of daily price movements.

For QUALCOMM, the DCF analysis starts with a current Free Cash Flow (FCF) of $12.6 Billion. Analysts provide FCF estimates for the next five years, with Simply Wall St extending these projections further based on reasonable assumptions. Over the next decade, QUALCOMM's FCF is expected to grow and reach an estimated $23.8 Billion in 2035. This growth forecast highlights steady optimism in QUALCOMM's ability to generate cash in a competitive landscape.

Based on these projections and the DCF model, QUALCOMM's fair value is estimated at $206.17 per share. With an implied discount of 16.0%, the analysis indicates that the stock is currently undervalued relative to its calculated intrinsic value.

Result: UNDERVALUED

Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests QUALCOMM is undervalued by 16.0%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 864 more undervalued stocks based on cash flows.QCOM Discounted Cash Flow as at Nov 2025

Head to the Valuation section of our Company Report for more details on how we arrive at this Fair Value for QUALCOMM.

Approach 2: QUALCOMM Price vs Earnings

For consistently profitable companies like QUALCOMM, the Price-to-Earnings (PE) ratio remains one of the most widely trusted valuation metrics. The PE ratio tells investors how much the market is willing to pay today for a dollar of current earnings. It is especially useful for assessing established companies that have steady earnings, as it reflects both growth opportunities and underlying business risks.

Story Continues

Growth prospects, sector trends, and risk profiles all shape what a fair PE ratio should be. Generally, companies with higher growth expectations or lower risk can justify a higher PE, while those facing more uncertainty or weaker outlooks tend to trade on lower multiples.

QUALCOMM currently trades at a PE ratio of 33.5x, just below the Semiconductor industry average of 35.6x and notably under the average of its peer group, which is 60.7x. However, simple comparisons can overlook the nuances that drive a company's value. This is where Simply Wall St's "Fair Ratio" comes into play. The Fair Ratio is calculated at 41.1x for QUALCOMM. The Fair Ratio synthesizes factors like the company’s earnings momentum, profit margin, market cap, and underlying sector risks to pinpoint a more personalized benchmark. By tailoring expectations to QUALCOMM’s unique profile, this approach helps you avoid the one-size-fits-all trap that standard industry and peer multiples can create.

QUALCOMM’s current PE ratio of 33.5x is meaningfully below its Fair Ratio of 41.1x, suggesting that, on a risk-adjusted and growth-adjusted basis, the stock presents undervalued characteristics at its present price.

Result: UNDERVALUEDNasdaqGS:QCOM PE Ratio as at Nov 2025

PE ratios tell one story, but what if the real opportunity lies elsewhere? Discover 1403 companies where insiders are betting big on explosive growth.

Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your QUALCOMM Narrative

Earlier, we mentioned there is an even better way to understand valuation, so let’s introduce you to Narratives. A Narrative is simply the story and set of beliefs you have about a company, describing how you think QUALCOMM will perform in the future and what you believe is a fair price. These are rooted not only in numbers, but also in your expectations for growth, earnings, and margins.

Narratives link your perspective about QUALCOMM’s direction to a financial forecast and a resulting fair value, helping you see beyond standard valuation ratios. On Simply Wall St’s Community page, Narratives are quick and easy to create, and are used by millions of investors to anchor their investment thesis, compare their valuation to others, and refine their thinking as new developments unfold.

The best part is that Narratives update automatically whenever fresh news or earnings are released, so your investment view stays relevant and responsive to the market. They clarify when your Fair Value estimate signals a buy or sell opportunity versus the current market price, empowering you to act with more confidence and context.

For example, some QUALCOMM investors now estimate fair value as high as $300 based on bold AI expansion and record earnings, while others, citing competitive and regulatory risks, are more conservative with values as low as $140. This shows exactly how personal perspectives shape price expectations.

Do you think there's more to the story for QUALCOMM? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!NasdaqGS:QCOM Community Fair Values as at Nov 2025

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include QCOM.

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