Is Qualcomm Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold on the $2.4B Alphawave Deal?

Qualcomm (QCOM) made waves last week with an announcement that it will buy Alphawave for $2.4 billion. This strategic acquisition is designed to combine Qualcomm’s artificial intelligence (AI) processor offerings with Alphawave’s wired connectivity solutions. The end result should leave Qualcomm set to dominate data center and edge compute markets amidst the AI revolution. The acquisition provides Alphawave’s shareholders with a 96% premium and speaks to Qualcomm’s zeal for speeding up its expansion beyond smartphones.

It comes as the semiconductor industry is reaching a critical juncture with chipmakers racing to create infrastructure for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and automotive technologies. Down almost 30% over the past year, the deal will put investors’ faith in Qualcomm to the test.