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 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.