Qualcomm is down 11.7% pre-market on cautious guidance and drags chip stocks lower
The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF, XSD, is down 2.9% before the open and touching a level not seen since April 21, as the selling spreads to AMD, Arm and chip funds in Taiwan and South Korea.
Qualcomm gave cautious guidance for its fiscal first quarter, and its shares are down 11.7% in pre-market trading.
The quarterly numbers were not the problem. Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share of $2.17 were a slight miss against the $2.20 expected, revenue was in line, and the company reiterated its $5bn fiscal 2027 data center revenue target. The guidance is what spooked investors.
The selling has spread well beyond one stock. The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) is down 2.9%, and the chip funds SOXX and SMH are lower with it. AMD is off about 2.5% and Arm Holdings is down roughly 4% to 8%. Sandisk is among the weakest names. The Taiwan and South Korea ETFs, EWT and EWY, are down 3% to 4%.
The group was already soft. Wednesday's rally was led by a rotation into value, financials and materials, which left growth stocks and chip makers lagging. Qualcomm has now given them a sector-specific reason to fall further.
This is the second semiconductor-wide selloff in three weeks. The first, on October 15, hit Nvidia, AMD, Intel and Marvell Technology with no company-specific trigger. This one has a concrete source. The spread into Arm, Sandisk and Asian chip exposure suggests investors are again treating a single company's guidance as a read on demand across the group, not as a verdict on Qualcomm's own business lines.
© Raydn · raydn.us
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