**Qualcomm (QCOM) Reports Q4 2025 Earnings: Revenue Beats Estimates but EPS Impacted by Large Tax Charge**
Qualcomm has released its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, delivering mixed news to investors. The tech giant exceeded Wall Street’s revenue expectations, but a significant tax charge weighed heavily on its earnings per share (EPS).
**Strong Revenue Performance**
For Q4 2025, Qualcomm reported quarterly revenue of $11.27 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $10.77 billion. This strong top-line performance was driven by robust growth across several business segments, signaling continued momentum for the company.
**EPS Hit by Massive Tax Charge**
Despite the revenue beat, Qualcomm’s EPS took a hit due to a substantial $6 billion tax charge. The company posted an EPS of $3.00 per share, which was slightly above analyst and whisper figures. However, when factoring in the tax charge, this figure turns into a $2.89 per share loss.
**CEO Comments on Business Momentum**
In the earnings report, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon emphasized the strength of the company’s operations:
> “Our business remains strong as demonstrated by record QCT revenues in fiscal 2025. We delivered 18% year-over-year growth in total QCT non-Apple revenues, with combined fiscal year Automotive and IoT revenue growth of 27%. We are excited about our business momentum, the availability of our automated driving stack, and our expansion to data centers and advanced robotics.”
**Impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act**
Qualcomm acknowledged that recent U.S. tax legislation, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, has significantly affected its financials. Although the company expects its effective tax rate to remain between 13% and 14%, the new law triggered a non-cash $5.7 billion charge in Q4. This charge established a valuation allowance against Qualcomm’s U.S. federal deferred tax assets due to the expectation of being subject to the U.S. corporate alternative minimum tax starting in fiscal 2026.
The company explained:
> “With the enactment of recent U.S. tax legislation in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we now expect our effective tax rate to generally remain in the 13% to 14% range and anticipate lower cash tax payments in future periods. However, this new tax legislation resulted in a non-cash $5.7 billion charge, or $5.29 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 to establish a valuation allowance against our U.S. federal deferred tax assets, as we now expect to be subject to the U.S. corporate alternative minimum tax beginning in fiscal 2026. This charge was excluded from our Non-GAAP metrics but impacted our GAAP results.”
**Advancements Across Key Sectors**
Qualcomm also highlighted several technological advancements across AI, gaming, and mobile performance sectors. Key hardware developments include:
– Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 mobile CPU chip
– Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme CPU chip
– AI-enabled Snapdragon Ride Pilot Automated Driving System
The company is preparing to showcase more of its product lineup at January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
**Stock Performance**
Following the earnings announcement, Qualcomm’s stock closed at $6.88 higher per share on Wednesday, November 5. However, it slid over $4.00 per share in after-hours trading.
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Qualcomm’s Q4 2025 results demonstrate the company’s resilient revenue growth and innovation momentum, even as tax-related charges create short-term pressure on earnings. Investors will be closely watching how the company navigates the evolving tax environment and capitalizes on its expanding technology portfolio in the coming quarters.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146695/qualcomm-qcom-q4-2025-earnings-report
