QCOM Hikes Dividend on Solid Cash Flow: Should You Stay Invested?

Qualcomm Incorporated QCOM recently announced a 3.4% year-over-year hike in its quarterly dividend payout to 92 cents per share or $3.68 on an annualized basis. A steady dividend payout is part of the long-term strategy of Qualcomm to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to its stockholders. In addition, healthy dividend increases at periodic intervals have been one of its strengths.

The company also approved a $20 billion share repurchase program in addition to its existing stock buyback program announced in November 2024, under which $2.1 billion worth of shares are available for repurchase.

The current hike reflects the inherent financial strength of the company and the strong cash flow generated from continued focus on high-margin businesses and healthy execution of operating plans. Qualcomm generated $4.96 billion of net cash from operating activities in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 compared with $4.59 billion a year ago. At quarter-end, the company had $7.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

With a dividend yield of approximately 2.7%, Qualcomm appears to be financially strong, with healthy cash generation and a strong ability to fund dividends and share buybacks.

Some Tech Firms With Recent Dividend Hikes

Analog Devices, Inc. ADI, has increased its quarterly dividend by 11% to $1.10 per share. This is the 22nd consecutive year of dividend hike by the semiconductor firm. Analog Devices has returned more than $32 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the past 22 years.

Broadcom Inc. AVGO increased its quarterly dividend by 10% to 65 cents per share for fiscal 2026. This represents the 15th consecutive increase in annual dividends since fiscal 2011.

QCOM’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Qualcomm shares have lost 16.2% over the past year against the industry’s growth of 59.9%.

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Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 11.6 forward earnings, lower than 27.26 for the industry.

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Earnings estimates for fiscal 2026 have decreased 6% to $11.28 per share over the past 60 days, while the same for fiscal 2027 are down 5.8% to $11.61.

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Qualcomm currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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