AMD vs. Qualcomm: Which Chip Stock Has the Better AI Story in 2026?

TLDR

• AMD reported $10.3B in Q1 2026 revenue, with data center now its primary growth driver
• AMD’s full-year 2025 revenue hit a record $34.6B, with data center revenue reaching $16.6B
• Qualcomm posted $10.6B in Q2 2026 revenue, but smartphones still account for the bulk at $6.93B
• Qualcomm is growing in automotive ($959M) and IoT ($1.58B), but hasn’t shed its handset-heavy image
• Wall Street rates AMD more bullish, with an average price target of $385.86 vs. Qualcomm’s $172.40

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AMD and Qualcomm are both major chip companies, but they are telling very different stories to investors in 2026. One is riding the data center wave. The other is still working to prove it can move beyond smartphones.

AMD reported $10.3 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2026. Gross margin came in at 53%, with operating income of $1.5 billion and net income of $1.4 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., AMD

Management pointed to data center as the main engine of growth. Demand for CPUs and accelerators is rising as companies build out AI inferencing and agentic AI systems.

That momentum built on a strong 2025. AMD posted record full-year revenue of $34.6 billion, with data center revenue alone hitting $16.6 billion. Operating income for the year was $3.7 billion.

AMD still sells chips for PCs, gaming, and embedded markets. But the market narrative has firmly shifted toward servers and AI infrastructure.

AMD’s Data Center Push

Analysts at MarketBeat give AMD a Moderate Buy consensus, with 30 Buy ratings and 2 Strong Buys. The average price target sits at $385.86.

The investment case is straightforward. AMD is winning business from large cloud providers and enterprises spending heavily on AI. The risk is that expectations are already high, and competition at the top end of AI compute is intense.

Qualcomm’s latest numbers tell a different story. The company reported $10.6 billion in revenue for fiscal Q2 2026, with non-GAAP diluted EPS of $2.65.

Handsets brought in $6.93 billion of that total. Automotive revenue reached $959 million, and IoT came in at $1.58 billion.

Qualcomm’s Push Into New Markets

Qualcomm has made real progress outside mobile. It is growing in automotive chips, AI PCs, edge computing, and industrial devices.

QUALCOMM Incorporated, QCOM

But smartphones still dominate its financials. That means the market is not pricing Qualcomm as an AI infrastructure stock the way it is AMD.

Reuters reported that Qualcomm’s recent guidance disappointed investors, even as management said supply pressures were easing. Near-term sentiment remains tied to the handset cycle.

MarketBeat shows 28 analysts covering Qualcomm with an average price target of $172.40. The stock recently traded around $206.06, putting it above the average target.

Qualcomm has a Moderate Buy consensus, but the setup is more mixed than AMD’s.

The gap between the two stocks comes down to clarity. AMD has a direct line to AI infrastructure spending. Qualcomm has growth opportunities, but still needs to show those newer businesses can reduce its reliance on handsets.

Qualcomm’s automotive revenue grew to $959 million in the most recent quarter, and IoT revenue reached $1.58 billion, the most recent figures available.

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