What Happened?
Shares of wireless chipmaker Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) jumped 12.3% in the afternoon session after the company announced its entry into the data center artificial intelligence (AI) market with two new chips designed to compete with industry leaders. The semiconductor giant unveiled its Qualcomm AI200 and AI250 chips, which were designed for running AI applications. This move marked a significant push for the company to diversify beyond smartphones and expand into the fast-growing AI infrastructure market. The new chips were positioned to compete with those from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, with commercial availability slated to begin the following year. Qualcomm also announced it had secured Saudi Arabia's Humain as its first customer for a deployment planned for 2026.
The shares closed the day at $187.65, up 11.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Qualcomm’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 10 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Qualcomm and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock gained 5.5% on the news that investor fears eased as President Trump softened his tone regarding trade relations with China. Following a sharp selloff late last week fueled by threats of an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods, the president's more conciliatory weekend message that "it will all be fine" sparked a broad market rally. The semiconductor sector, which is particularly sensitive to international trade policies due to its global supply chains, was among the biggest beneficiaries of the improved sentiment. Chipmakers had posted significant declines during the previous week amid escalating tariff concerns. The reversal in tone helped these stocks recover a substantial portion of their recent losses as investors bought back into the sector, relieved that trade tensions might not escalate further.
Qualcomm is up 22.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $188.25 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Qualcomm’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,495.
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