Qualcomm secured a ~$60 billion, multi-year AI accelerator supply agreement with Amazon, marking a major diversification in the GPU supply chain away from Nvidia.
Qualcomm shares have risen sharply following the announcement of a significant artificial intelligence partnership with Amazon Web Services. On September 8, 2026, the two companies unveiled a multi-year, multi-generation collaboration to jointly develop custom chips for large AI data centers and advance optical interconnect products capable of supporting speeds up to 1.6 terabits per second. The strategic importance of this deal is underscored by Amazon's acquisition of warrants to purchase up to 25 million shares of Qualcomm common stock at an exercise price of $161.26 per share, expiring September 3, 2036—implying a nominal warrant value of approximately $4.03 billion if fully exercised.
The partnership directly addresses Qualcomm's ambition to dramatically expand its data center footprint. Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala stated that the company expects to begin generating revenue from this collaboration as early as the quarter ending in December 2026. The AWS deal forms a critical pillar of Qualcomm's objective to achieve $15 billion in data center revenue by fiscal year 2029, a substantial step up from an earlier target of $5 billion by fiscal 2027. This reflects the company's broader diversification away from its traditional smartphone-focused business.
Market reaction to the announcement was immediate and positive. Qualcomm shares rose 3.17 percent on September 8 to close at $174.09 on Nasdaq, with trading volume reaching approximately 26.13 million shares. Over the following week, the stock climbed 7.84 percent as investors focused on the chipmaker's expanding role in the AI data center market. By September 11, 2026, Qualcomm closed at $181.97, up 2.88 percent from the previous session, with after-hours trading at $182.15. Technical analysis indicates the stock has broken above a downtrend line extending from a prior peak of $259.89 and surpassed the 0.236 Fibonacci level at $170.52, suggesting improvement in the longer-term trend. However, the intraday high of $183.49 on September 8 followed by retreat to near the 60-day moving average of $175.89 indicates persistent selling pressure between $175 and $183.
The near-term earnings environment presents a more complex picture. Qualcomm's consensus earnings estimate for the upcoming quarter stands at $2.18 per share, representing a 27.33 percent decline compared with the year-ago quarter, with projected revenue of $10.16 billion, down 9.83 percent year-over-year. For the full fiscal year, analysts expect earnings of $10.54 per share and revenue of $42.89 billion. These estimates suggest that despite the strategic upside from AI data center initiatives, the core business faces near-term revenue and profit pressures.
Beyond the Amazon partnership, Qualcomm confronts additional execution challenges. A separate deal with Samsung for 2-nanometer chip production has stalled as price negotiations faltered, with manufacturing potentially slipping to 2027 after Samsung declined to grant discounts following other major client commitments. This delay introduces another layer of risk to Qualcomm's semiconductor roadmap, particularly in advanced process nodes critical for both mobile and AI processors.
The Amazon collaboration carries substantial commercial weight: the e-commerce and cloud giant could purchase up to $60 billion in Qualcomm AI data center products over roughly a decade, locking the companies together through the $4 billion warrant structure. For investors, this combination of large-volume potential and the delayed Samsung manufacturing roadmap underscores that Qualcomm's growth trajectory will depend not only on demand for AI chips but also on its ability to secure competitive manufacturing and manage capital allocation effectively.