QCOM vs. STM: QUALCOMM vs. STMicroelectronics Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM) are both classified in the Semiconductors sub-industry within the broader Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) trades as ordinary local shares, while STMicroelectronics (STM) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Profile Item	QCOM	STM
Name	QUALCOMM Incorporated	STMicroelectronics N.V.
Country/Region	United States	Switzerland
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
GICS Industry	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
GICS Sub-Industry	Semiconductors	Semiconductors
Market Capitalization	176.99 billion USD	37.30 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	December 13, 1991	December 8, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

QCOM

STM

GSPC

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
Total Return (1Y)	4.41%	90.64%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	15.75%	4.24%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	3.17%	-1.95%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

QCOM

STM

GSPC

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	55.42%	62.24%
Beta (5Y)	1.73	2.00
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-44.29%	-66.66%
Avg. Volume (3M)	12.25M	9.18M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

QCOM and STM are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.00	1.39
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.00	2.07

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 52.82% sits in the top ROE quartile, while STMicroelectronics (STM) at 2.95% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for QCOM.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

52.82%

QCOM: 52.82%
Max: 52.82%
Q3: 22.26%
Median: 10.58%
Q1: 1.29%
Min: -16.89%

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.95%

Max: 52.82%
Q3: 22.26%
Median: 10.58%
STM: 2.95%
Q1: 1.29%
Min: -16.89%

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their ROE against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 31.61% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of STMicroelectronics (STM) at 3.80%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

31.61%

Max: 63.80%
QCOM: 31.61%
Q3: 28.36%
Median: 11.44%
Q1: 0.90%
Min: -37.77%

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

3.80%

Max: 63.80%
Q3: 28.36%
Median: 11.44%
STM: 3.80%
Q1: 0.90%
Min: -37.77%

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their net margin against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 15.41% and STMicroelectronics (STM) at 11.10% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

15.41%

Max: 58.66%
Q3: 30.23%
Median: 15.91%
QCOM: 15.41%
Q1: 7.54%
Min: -25.74%

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

11.10%

Max: 58.66%
Q3: 30.23%
Median: 15.91%
STM: 11.10%
Q1: 7.54%
Min: -25.74%

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their operating margin against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
ROE (TTM)	52.82%	2.95%
ROA (TTM)	10.13%	2.63%
Net Margin (TTM)	31.61%	3.80%
Operating Margin (TTM)	15.41%	11.10%
Gross Margin (TTM)	53.10%	35.53%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both QUALCOMM (QCOM) at -2.63% and STMicroelectronics (STM) at -11.07% post bottom-quartile revenue growth versus peers, pointing to weaker demand or pricing momentum than typical rivals.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 153.49% delivers above-range EPS growth, while STMicroelectronics (STM) at -89.16% falls into the bottom quartile — a wide split in earnings momentum.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-2.63%	-11.07%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	6.38%	-9.89%
EPS Growth (YoY)	153.49%	-89.16%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	25.53%	-66.39%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

STMicroelectronics (STM) at 3.13 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 1.86 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for QCOM.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

1.86

Max: 10.33
Q3: 5.62
Median: 3.33
Q1: 2.35
QCOM: 1.86
Min: 1.03

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

3.13

Max: 10.33
Q3: 5.62
Median: 3.33
STM: 3.13
Q1: 2.35
Min: 1.03

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their current ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 0.53 and STMicroelectronics (STM) at 0.19 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.53

Max: 1.46
Q3: 0.65
QCOM: 0.53
Median: 0.27
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.00

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.19

Max: 1.46
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.27
STM: 0.19
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.00

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.86	3.13
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.53	0.19
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.78	-0.63

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

STMicroelectronics (STM) at 0.90% earns its spot in the top quartile of its industry’s yields; QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 2.31% is past the top of its own peer range — territory where a dividend-safety check matters more than the headline number.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.31%

QCOM: 2.31%
Max: 1.37%
Q3: 0.65%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

0.90%

Max: 1.37%
STM: 0.90%
Q3: 0.65%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both pay out more than their industries’ typical bands, and STM more so: QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 28.50% sits above the band, while STMicroelectronics (STM) at 63.16% exceeds every peer in its group.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

28.50%

Max: 49.64%
QCOM: 28.50%
Q3: 21.71%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

63.16%

STM: 63.16%
Max: 49.64%
Q3: 21.71%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.31%	0.90%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	28.50%	63.16%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 13.02 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while STMicroelectronics (STM) at 73.19 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

13.02

Max: 110.34
Q3: 66.81
Median: 37.02
Q1: 23.96
QCOM: 13.02
Min: 8.12

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

73.19

Max: 110.34
STM: 73.19
Q3: 66.81
Median: 37.02
Q1: 23.96
Min: 8.12

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

STMicroelectronics (STM) at 2.73 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 4.10 prices around its industry’s middle — STM costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

4.10

Max: 21.42
Q3: 12.27
Median: 5.76
QCOM: 4.10
Q1: 2.73
Min: 0.00

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.73

Max: 21.42
Q3: 12.27
Median: 5.76
Q1: 2.73
STM: 2.73
Min: 0.00

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

STMicroelectronics (STM) at 2.09 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while QUALCOMM (QCOM) at 5.83 is valued near its industry’s middle — STM is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

QCOM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

5.83

Max: 14.06
Q3: 7.44
QCOM: 5.83
Median: 4.29
Q1: 2.30
Min: 0.20

STM

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group

2.09

Max: 14.06
Q3: 7.44
Median: 4.29
Q1: 2.30
STM: 2.09
Min: 0.20

QUALCOMM (QCOM) vs. STMicroelectronics (STM): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for QUALCOMM (QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (STM)
Metric	QCOM	STM
P/E Ratio (TTM)	13.02	73.19
P/S Ratio (TTM)	4.10	2.73
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	5.83	2.09
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	5.15%	0.29%