QCOM vs ARM Stock Comparison

Qualcomm and Arm Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
QCOM Qualcomm Inc/De
$179.60 -11.1% 1M +6.3% 1Y
Market cap
$189.84B
P/E
20.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$44.07B
Div. yield
2.02%
Semiconductor Design Technology
4 wins
ARM Arm Holdings Plc /Uk
$223.35 -28.0% 1M +30.9% 1Y
Market cap
$236.97B
P/E
227.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.16B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Design Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Arm Holdings leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Arm Holdings 4, Qualcomm 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionQCOMARMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $189.84B $236.97B ARM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.5x 227.0x QCOM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.6x 107.4x QCOM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.9% +25.1% ARM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 20.2% QCOM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.5% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.4x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.02% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.3% +30.9% ARM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.5%/yr — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 53.1% 79.0% QCOM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 62/100 ARM

Percentile Scorecard

QCOMARM

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisQCOMARM
Valuation 80 #20 of 95 7 #88 of 95
Growth 34 #62 of 93 88 #12 of 93
Profitability 87 #13 of 91 77 #22 of 91
Financial Health 28 #73 of 101 77 #24 of 101
Shareholder Returns 80 #16 of 75 –
Overall 62 62
  • QCOM ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ARM ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodQCOMARMSPY
1 month -11.1%-28.0% -0.8%
3 months +5.6%-16.1% +3.5%
6 months +19.5%+3.5% +7.0%
Year to date +5.0%+104.3% +12.2%
1 year +6.3%+30.9% +13.0%
3 years +68.7%+355.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +19.1%+65.8% +23.1%
5 years +36.9%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +6.5%— +11.0%
10 years +163.3%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.2%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureQCOMARMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 53.1%79.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 52.5%71.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.073.47 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.120.39 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.6%-54.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.5%-49.2% -1.8%
52-week high $251.02$439.46 $779.14
52-week low $124.07$104.55 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleQCOMARM
P/E now vs peer median 20.5xmedian 42.1x 227.0xmedian 42.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 7.1x 46.0xmedian 7.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.5xmedian 27.5x 201.3xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.2xmedian 37.2x 117.8xmedian 37.2x
P/B now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 4.2x 27.5xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 4.93median 2.23 6.40median 2.23

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsQCOMARM
Revenue $44.07B $5.16B
Gross profit $23.90B $5.03B
Operating income $10.22B $877.00M
Net income $9.26B $1.04B
Free cash flow $10.42B $2.01B
R&D $9.89B $2.96B
EPS (diluted) $8.66 $0.98
Cash & equivalents $4.53B $3.06B
Total debt $12.78B –
Shares (diluted) 1.07B 1.07B
Enterprise value $149.76B $222.69B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricQCOMARM
P/E 20.5x 227.0x
P/FCF 18.2x 117.8x
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x 113.2x
P/S 4.3x 46.0x
P/B 6.9x 27.5x
P/Tangible book 7.3x 28.2x
EV/EBITDA 16.5x 201.3x
EV/EBIT 19.0x 265.8x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 45.2x
EV/FCF 18.7x 115.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.7x 111.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.93 6.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricQCOMARM
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.9% 25.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 24.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.8% 25.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.2% 25.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -15.0% 14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.6% 21.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -20.0% 49.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.4% 37.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -17.8% 48.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 35.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -2.1% 105.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 34.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.4% 121.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 33.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricQCOMARM
Gross margin 54.2% 97.5%
EBITDA margin 26.8% 22.5%
Operating margin 23.2% 17.0%
Pretax margin 25.4% 24.5%
Net margin 21.0% 20.2%
FCF margin 23.6% 39.0%
Operating cash flow margin 28.1% 40.6%
Return on equity 33.7% 16.3%
Return on assets 16.2% 12.6%
Return on invested capital 20.5% –
Return on capital employed 22.3% 9.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 7.4% 22.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricQCOMARM
Debt / assets 22.3% –
Debt / equity 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.4x –
Debt / FCF 1.2x –
Liabilities / assets 51.8% 22.9%
Equity / assets 48.2% 77.1%
Interest coverage 14.8x –
Current ratio 2.0x 5.3x
Quick ratio 1.1x 4.9x
Cash ratio 0.7x 3.2x
Altman Z-score 6.10 57.27

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricQCOMARM
Dividend yield 2.0% –
Net buyback yield 4.6% –
Shareholder yield 6.7% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 41.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 36.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.9% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusQCOMARM
Forward P/E 16.6xFY2026 107.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.79FY2026 $2.08FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.3%FY2026 +17.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.9% +51.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $45.55BFY2026 $5.71BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.2%FY2026 +16.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.0% +38.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersQCOMARM
Held by institutions 79.7% 9.3%
Institutions holding 3,029 955
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% +12.4%
Institutions buying 1,416 593
Institutions selling 1,332 257
Buyers to sellers 1.06 2.31

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

QCOMARM
QCOM 1.00 0.48
ARM 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, QCOM and ARM?

Arm Holdings (ARM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Qualcomm (QCOM) $189.84B, Arm Holdings (ARM) $236.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, QCOM and ARM?

Qualcomm (QCOM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Qualcomm (QCOM) 20.5x, Arm Holdings (ARM) 227.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Qualcomm (QCOM) is cheapest (Qualcomm (QCOM) 16.6x, Arm Holdings (ARM) 107.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Arm Holdings (ARM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Qualcomm (QCOM) +1.9%, Arm Holdings (ARM) +25.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qualcomm (QCOM) has the highest net margin (Qualcomm (QCOM) 21.0%, Arm Holdings (ARM) 20.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arm Holdings (ARM) returned the most: Qualcomm (QCOM) +6.3%, Arm Holdings (ARM) +30.9%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Qualcomm (QCOM) 2.02%. Arm Holdings (ARM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Qualcomm (QCOM) has been the steadiest (Qualcomm (QCOM) 53.1%, Arm Holdings (ARM) 79.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do QCOM and ARM move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.48, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, QCOM and ARM?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Arm Holdings (ARM) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.