Qualcomm (QCOM) is back near record highs, but the ride is getting rougher.
The stock came within striking distance of its 2024 record close Thursday before reversing — flashing the first real hesitation after a powerful run that has turned Qualcomm into the latest hot AI-adjacent chip trade.
Semiconductors have been ripping during the market’s latest record run, with chip stocks recently smashing records. Qualcomm has drawn fresh interest from AI smartphone chip speculation, its push into data-center custom silicon, and a recent earnings update that came with a $20 billion buyback.
The bigger picture is what makes this move interesting.
Qualcomm spent roughly two decades below its dot-com-era peak before finally breaking through in 2020. That old ceiling has held as support, and the stock has since more than doubled from that level.
Qualcomm’s setup also puts it in a small group of dot-com survivors that have finally escaped their 2000 peaks. Intel (INTC) recently joined that club after earnings, breaking above its own dot-com-era ceiling for the first time in decades.
Qualcomm got there earlier, as it cleared its 2000 high in 2020 and has held above it. But the post-breakout era has been volatile. Qualcomm has made runs at records before, only to give back much of the move.
That makes the current test different from the old dot-com fight. The 2000 high is no longer the ceiling. The question now is whether Qualcomm can finally turn a move through its modern record zone into something that sticks.
Though no single headline appears to be driving the stock today, the latest tidbit is that Qualcomm executives are expected to be invited on President Trump’s China trip, alongside leaders from Nvidia, Apple, and others, according to Semafor.
For now, QCOM needs to clear that record zone and hold it.
Jared Blikre is the global markets and data editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @SPYJared or email him at jaredblikre@yahooinc.com.
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