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ARM
Arm Holdings plc · Technology
$289.73
-34.07% this month
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COMPARE
QCOM
Qualcomm Incorporated · Technology
$170.32
-24.67% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
ARM
1
QCOM
3
Comparison scoreboard
QCOM LEADS 3/5AI Score
ARM 42.3
QCOM ✓51.0
1Y Return
ARM ✓+78.93%
QCOM +10.03%
Fwd P/E
ARM 94.08
QCOM ✓15.54
Target Up.
ARM +5.20%
QCOM ✓+29.66%
Op. Margin
ARM N/A
QCOM 22.06%
Metrics last refreshed: 7/21/2026
Quick take
ARM vs QCOM: ARM Holdings vs Qualcomm — Which Chip Architecture Stock Wins?: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
ARM and Qualcomm are deeply interrelated businesses — Qualcomm designs chips on ARM's architecture and pays ARM royalties. ARM is the licensing layer beneath most silicon; Qualcomm is a chip designer that sits on top of ARM's architecture. ARM offers pure royalty model exposure; Qualcomm is a chip design company with licensing income and direct silicon competition.
Use this ARM vs QCOM comparison to choose between the chip architecture licensor and one of its biggest customers turned chip designer. ARM offers a pure royalty rate expansion story; Qualcomm offers a valuation discount with automotive growth optionality and strong near-term on-device AI differentiation.
Live analysis · updated 7/21/2026
QCOM holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ARM has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+78.93% vs +10.03%), though QCOM has the better forward P/E setup (15.54x vs 94.08x for ARM). Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for QCOM (+29.66%) than for ARM (+5.20%).
Normalized 1Y performance
ARM
QCOM
Recent returns
ARM
QCOM
Analyst price targets & sentiment
ARM · 37 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.9/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$125.00
analyst high$500.00
analyst mean$304.78
current price$289.73
+5.2% upside to analyst mean
QCOM · 29 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.3/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$140.00
analyst high$245.00
analyst mean$222.73
current price$170.32
+29.7% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
ARM may suit investors who:
- →Want exposure to the ubiquitous chip architecture royalty stream as ARMv9 adoption compounds
- →Believe data center CPU migration to ARM architecture represents a major long-term royalty expansion
- →Are comfortable paying a very high multiple for what may be the most important semiconductor IP platform
- →See AI chip licensing as an emerging revenue layer as AI accelerators increasingly use ARM cores
QCOM may suit investors who:
- →Want exposure to premium mobile and PC chip design with a high-margin licensing business
- →Believe automotive chip revenue will become a significant growth driver over the next 3–5 years
- →See on-device AI via Snapdragon as a differentiation point driving premium Android share
- →Prefer a more moderate valuation relative to ARM while still participating in mobile and AI chip themes
Performance & AI score
| Metric | ARM | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 42.3 | 51.0 |
| AI rank | #928 | #445 |
| Latest close | $289.73 | $170.32 |
| 1M return | -34.07% | -24.67% |
| 6M return | +173.90% | +6.84% |
| 1Y return | +78.93% | +10.03% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ARM | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $17.89K (+78.9%) started 2025-07-21 | $10.71K (+7.1%) started 2025-07-21 |
| 5Y ago | $45.56K (+355.6%) started 2023-09-14 | $14.13K (+41.3%) started 2021-07-21 |
| 10Y ago | $45.56K (+355.6%) started 2023-09-14 | $47.92K (+379.2%) started 2016-07-21 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | ARM | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $309.45B | $181.06B |
| Trailing P/E | 336.90 | 18.49 |
| Forward P/E | 94.08 | 15.54 |
| Price/Sales | 62.90 | 3.88 |
| EV/Revenue | 57.90 | 4.19 |
| Analyst target | $304.78 | $222.73 |
| Target upside | +5.20% | +29.66% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | ARM | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 20.10% | -3.50% |
| Earnings growth | 47.90% | 173.00% |
| EPS growth | +47.90% | +173.00% |
| FCF margin | +15.25% | +21.56% |
| Operating margin | N/A | 22.06% |
| Profit margin | 18.37% | 22.31% |
| ROIC proxy | 11.95% | 36.08% |
| Return on equity | 11.95% | 36.08% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 2.14% |
| Beta | 3.77 | 1.64 |
| Debt/equity | 5.93 | 55.98 |
| Current ratio | 6.00 | 2.37 |
| Quick ratio | 5.83 | 1.45 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
ARM max drawdown41.47%
QCOM max drawdown33.89%
ARM max wkly drop25.35%
QCOM max wkly drop23.52%
5Y risk snapshot
ARM max drawdown53.97%
QCOM max drawdown44.50%
ARM max wkly drop30.98%
QCOM max wkly drop23.52%
10Y risk snapshot
ARM max drawdown53.97%
QCOM max drawdown44.50%
ARM max wkly drop30.98%
QCOM max wkly drop23.52%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | ARM | QCOM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +78.93% | +7.14% |
| CAGR | +79.01% | +7.17% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.10 | 0.30 | |
| Max drawdown | 41.47% | 33.89% | |
| Max daily drop | 13.44% | 11.46% | |
| Max wkly drop | 25.35% | 23.52% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +355.62% | +29.92% |
| CAGR | +70.25% | +5.38% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.01 | 0.23 | |
| Max drawdown | 53.97% | 44.50% | |
| Max daily drop | 19.46% | 11.46% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.98% | 23.52% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +355.62% | +263.49% |
| CAGR | +70.25% | +13.78% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.01 | 0.41 | |
| Max drawdown | 53.97% | 44.50% | |
| Max daily drop | 19.46% | 14.95% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.98% | 23.52% |
Business comparison
| Category | ARM | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Arm Holdings plc | Qualcomm Incorporated |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | Semiconductors |
| Core business | Designer and licensor of CPU architecture and instruction sets used in virtually all smartphones, most embedded devices, and a growing share of data center and AI chips. Revenue comes from licensing and per-chip royalties. | Designer of Snapdragon mobile and PC application processors (using ARM architecture), 5G modems, and automotive chips. Also licenses its 5G and CDMA patents via a large, high-margin licensing segment (QTL). |
| Investor focus | Royalty revenue per chip as ARM v9 adoption expands, data center CPU licensing traction (AWS Graviton, Microsoft Cobalt, NVIDIA Grace), AI chip architecture licensing, and royalty rate growth over time. | Snapdragon 8 Elite performance and market share in Android premium devices, automotive design win ramp, on-device AI capabilities, licensing segment renewal risk, and diversification beyond Apple modem dependence. |
ARM strengths
- →ARM architecture is in virtually every smartphone ever made — near-monopoly in mobile CPU instruction sets
- →Transition from ARMv8 to ARMv9 doubles royalty rates, providing structural revenue tailwind
- →Data center CPU adoption accelerating with AWS, Microsoft, Google, and NVIDIA all building ARM-based chips
QCOM strengths
- →Snapdragon is the premium Android application processor brand with strong market position in high-end devices
- →Automotive chip design wins represent a multi-year revenue ramp as software-defined vehicles proliferate
- →QTL licensing segment generates extremely high margins and provides stable baseline earnings
Risks to watch — ARM
- →Extreme valuation — ARM trades at one of the highest revenue multiples in the sector
- →Licensing revenue is heavily concentrated in mobile, creating slowdown risk if smartphone markets are weak
- →RISC-V open-source architecture is a long-term competitive threat, though currently limited
Risks to watch — QCOM
- →Apple modem business at risk as Apple develops its own in-house 5G modem
- →Smartphone market cyclicality creates revenue volatility
- →Licensing agreements with major Android OEMs periodically come up for renegotiation
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