Qualcomm Shares Sink 12% as Smartphone Chip Market Share Slips and Sector Selloff Hits Semis

Qualcomm shares fell as much as 12% on October 30, 2026, among the steepest declines in a broad semiconductor selloff that also dragged Arm down 10%, Marvell 8%, and Broadcom 5%. The drop came even as DA Davidson issued a bullish upgrade on Broadcom tied to hopes around Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs, underscoring how little appetite investors had for positive chip-sector headlines on the day.

Fresh data from Counterpoint Research added fundamental pressure, showing global smartphone processor shipments dropped 21% year over year in the third quarter as rising memory costs pushed manufacturers to cut cheaper handset models. Qualcomm's share of that shrinking market fell from 25% to 22%, while MediaTek declined more sharply from 34% to 28%. Apple was the lone gainer, moving up from 17% to 21%. Qualcomm also faced specific headwinds from Samsung incorporating its own Exynos chips in certain Galaxy S26 models and from weaker demand among Chinese smartphone makers.

Counterpoint now projects smartphone chip shipments will contract a further 20% across full-year 2026, followed by an additional 3%-4% decline in 2027, a two-year outlook that puts sustained pressure on Qualcomm's core handset business. The company is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results, covering the period ended September 2026, next Wednesday, giving investors a near-term opportunity to assess how management is navigating the downturn.