AVGO vs QCOM Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
AVGO and QCOM are both large-cap semiconductor companies, but with very different end-market exposures and growth drivers. Broadcom's AI data center tailwinds (networking ASICs and custom chips) and VMware software give it strong growth momentum in the current AI investment cycle. Qualcomm is primarily a mobile-focused company with licensing income and growing automotive exposure, with AI as a catalyst for the next smartphone upgrade cycle rather than the current AI infrastructure build-out.
AVGO vs QCOM is a comparison between AI data center infrastructure exposure (Broadcom) and mobile/automotive semiconductor exposure (Qualcomm) — Broadcom benefits directly from the ongoing hyperscaler AI build-out, while Qualcomm is positioned for the next wave of on-device AI at the edge and in automotive.
AVGO holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. QCOM leads on both 1-year return (+5.70%) and forward P/E quality (16.09x vs 18.67x for AVGO), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. AVGO leads on both revenue growth (85.50%) and operating margin (54.31%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for AVGO (+46.92%) than for QCOM (+17.61%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prefer direct AI data center exposure via networking ASICs and custom chips for hyperscalers like Google and Meta
- value combined semiconductor and enterprise software revenue through VMware for reduced cyclicality
- want a mega-cap AI infrastructure company with multiple hyperscaler design wins and a dominant networking franchise
- are comfortable with a premium valuation that reflects high AI revenue expectations
- prefer mobile semiconductor and licensing exposure with on-device AI as a future catalyst for smartphone upgrade cycles
- value Qualcomm's cellular patent licensing business as a high-margin, relatively stable royalty income stream
- want automotive semiconductor diversification through Snapdragon Ride design wins with long revenue visibility
- are comfortable with Apple modem replacement risk and smartphone market cyclicality as near-term headwinds
| Metric | AVGO | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 76.6 | 51.6 |
| AI ranki | #19 | #447 |
| Latest closei | $357.61 | $177.72 |
| 1M returni | -1.34% | +9.76% |
| 6M returni | +11.81% | +35.37% |
| 1Y returni | +3.55% | +5.70% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AVGO | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.36K (+3.6%) started 2025-09-18 | $10.57K (+5.7%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $85.82K (+758.2%) started 2021-09-20 | $15.64K (+56.4%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $359.3K (+3493.0%) started 2016-09-19 | $46.77K (+367.7%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AVGO | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $1.73T | $175.36B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 46.05 | 18.76 |
| Forward P/Ei | 18.67 | 16.09 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 3.88 |
| EV/Revenuei | 19.79 | 4.07 |
| Analyst targeti | $531.85 | $193.10 |
| Target upsidei | +46.92% | +17.61% |
| Metric | AVGO | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 85.50% | -4.00% |
| Earnings growthi | 215.30% | -23.00% |
| EPS growthi | +215.30% | -23.00% |
| FCF margini | +34.34% | +23.24% |
| Operating margini | 54.31% | 18.53% |
| Profit margini | 42.94% | 21.01% |
| ROIC proxyi | 44.25% | 33.75% |
| Return on equityi | 44.25% | 33.75% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.72% | 2.23% |
| Payout ratioi | 32.40% | 41.03% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.46 | 1.66 |
| Debt/equityi | 59.60 | 55.21 |
| Current ratioi | 2.50 | 2.02 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.15 | 1.14 |
Over the past year, AVGO and QCOM have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.34), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AVGO | QCOM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +3.55% | +5.70% |
| CAGRi | +3.55% | +5.71% | |
| Volatilityi | 46.36% | 53.05% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.21 | 0.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.30 | 0.43 | |
| Max drawdowni | 29.55% | 41.20% | |
| Current drawdowni | 25.74% | 29.20% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.74% | 18.32% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.39% | 21.85% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.59% | 11.46% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.35% | 23.52% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +686.22% | +44.50% |
| CAGRi | +51.11% | +7.65% | |
| Volatilityi | 44.36% | 42.37% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.05 | 0.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.65 | 0.40 | |
| Max drawdowni | 41.15% | 44.50% | |
| Current drawdowni | 25.74% | 29.20% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 10.58% | 25.45% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.85% | 28.01% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.40% | 11.46% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.35% | 23.52% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2598.00% | +258.56% |
| CAGRi | +39.04% | +13.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.89% | 39.84% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.92 | 0.41 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.37 | 0.60 | |
| Max drawdowni | 48.30% | 44.50% | |
| Current drawdowni | 25.74% | 29.20% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.62% | 19.40% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.91% | 22.75% | |
| Max daily dropi | 19.91% | 14.95% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 31.75% | 23.52% |
| Category | AVGO | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Broadcom Inc. | Qualcomm Incorporated |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductors | Semiconductors |
| Core business | Broadcom is a diversified semiconductor and infrastructure software company with leading positions in networking ASICs (Tomahawk, Jericho), custom AI chips for Google and Meta, wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular front-end), storage controllers, and the VMware enterprise software platform. AI data center demand has driven significant revenue growth in its networking and custom silicon segment, making Broadcom a major AI infrastructure beneficiary alongside NVIDIA. | Qualcomm is the dominant mobile applications processor (Snapdragon) and cellular modem company, with approximately 30%+ of revenue from smartphone chipsets and 60%+ from licensing its cellular patents to every smartphone manufacturer globally. Qualcomm is diversifying into automotive (Snapdragon Ride), IoT, and PC (Windows on ARM Snapdragon X series), and has developed on-device AI inference capabilities through its NPU architecture. QTL (licensing) contributes very high-margin royalty income. |
| Investor focus | Investors focus on AI networking and custom ASIC revenue growth, VMware subscription conversion progress, combined hardware-software operating margins, and the trajectory of AI-specific semiconductor revenue as hyperscalers expand GPU cluster deployments. | Investors focus on smartphone market recovery and flagship Android chipset market share (Snapdragon 8 series), the pace of the Apple modem transition risk, automotive revenue ramp, and the potential upside from on-device AI (AI PC and AI smartphone) driving faster upgrade cycles. |
- Dominant networking ASIC franchise (Tomahawk switches, Jericho routers) with design wins across major hyperscalers
- VMware acquisition provides high-margin recurring software revenue that reduces cyclical semiconductor revenue dependence
- Custom AI chips for Google (TPU) and Meta (MTIA) are multi-billion-dollar annual programs with high strategic importance
- Cellular patent portfolio generates very high-margin royalty income from virtually every smartphone sold globally
- Snapdragon Ride is gaining automotive design wins across major OEMs, with long-duration revenue visibility
- On-device AI inference (Snapdragon NPU) positions Qualcomm for the AI smartphone upgrade cycle
- VMware customer pushback against aggressive pricing and licensing changes introduces churn risk
- Broadcom's market cap already reflects significant AI revenue expectations, creating little room for execution errors
- Regulatory scrutiny of Broadcom's dominant market positions in networking and software adds compliance overhead
- Apple is designing its own 5G cellular modem to replace Qualcomm's modems in iPhones — successful execution would remove a major Qualcomm revenue stream
- Smartphone market cyclicality creates lumpy QCT (chipset) revenue that is difficult to predict on a quarterly basis
- Android flagships market share is under pressure from MediaTek's Dimensity platform at lower price points
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.