[DiaryPoint = Reporter Eom Ju-yong] Qualcomm will release its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results after the U.S. market closes on November 4 Pacific Time. In Korea, the results can be checked early on November 5. The company has only said the release will come after the market closes. The earnings conference call starts at 1:45 p.m. Pacific Time. Since daylight saving time has ended, that works out to 6:45 a.m. on November 5 in Korea.
When reading the smartphone market from this release, it is more useful to look at handset chip sales within QCT, Qualcomm's semiconductor business segment, rather than total revenue. Total results also include automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) chips as well as patent licensing. Handset chip sales offer clues about manufacturers' production and inventory adjustments and shifts in product mix.
Handset chip sales show the shipment trend
In the previous quarter, fiscal 2026 third quarter, Qualcomm's handset chip revenue was $5.086 billion, down 20% from a year earlier. In the fourth-quarter results, the first things to check are whether this line recovered and whether it landed within the range the company had projected. Chip revenue is not the same as finished device sales, however. It is also affected by manufacturers' inventory levels and shipment timing.
Memory costs should be analyzed on two fronts. One is how memory prices and supply pressure affected handset makers' costs and production plans. The other is how rising input costs across semiconductors, including memory, were reflected in Qualcomm's own costs and margins. In its previous earnings release, Qualcomm cited the impact of manufacturers' cost pressure, production adjustments, and its own product price changes on its results.
The next-quarter outlook may signal the industry more clearly than total revenue
In its previous release, the company guided fourth-quarter revenue to $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion and QCT revenue to $8.4 billion to $9.0 billion. This time, investors should check not only whether actual revenue fell within those ranges, but also how handset chip demand and memory costs are presented as variables in the next-quarter outlook. Guidance is the company's forecast, not confirmed results.
These figures do not directly mean that smartphone prices in Korea will change. However, if memory pressure affects handset makers' product mix and production volumes, it could become a factor in the options available for entry-level and mid-range models and in pricing for new launches. On the morning of November 5 Korea time, the earnings materials will be followed by a briefing starting at 6:45 a.m., where management is expected to discuss the next-quarter outlook and comments on memory.