When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) chip space, Wall Street tends to list the exact same big names: Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Intel (INTC). Amid the AI-driven market cap race, Qualcomm (QCOM) has remained in the shadows for some time; as the tech sector bloated with price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples of 50 times or more, QCOM stock traded at a modest discount.
The reason for this calm has been understandable. The market has only perceived Qualcomm as a beneficiary of the stagnating mobile sector. More than that, the company has carried a heavy overhang of risks, from intense pressure from Chinese vendors to the gradual transition of Apple (AAPL) to its own in-house chips.