
Qualcomm (QCOM) stock edged lower at market open on Wednesday ahead of its fiscal third-quarter earnings, despite announcing two strategic moves aimed at expanding its AI and automotive businesses.
The chipmaker completed its acquisition of Modular, an AI-native software infrastructure company founded by Chris Lattner, and was named BMW Group’s lead compute silicon provider for future vehicle platforms.
QCOM’s stock edged 0.8% lower in morning trade amid broader weakness in the market. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the company remained in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day. Platform data showed a 40% increase in chatter as retail investors turned their attention to how the shares might react after the company’s third-quarter (Q3) earnings, scheduled for after the bell.
Wall Street expects the company to post revenue of $9.6 billion and earnings per share of $2.22, according to analyst estimates on Koyfin.
Qualcomm agreed to acquire Modular in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $3.9 billion when the deal was first announced on June 24. The acquisition adds Modular’s AI software tools to Qualcomm’s portfolio, including its Mojo programming language, MAX inference platform, and Modular Cloud products.
Qualcomm said Modular will continue developing its software products while gaining access to Qualcomm’s broader ecosystem of devices, data centers, edge infrastructure, and AI platforms.
CEO Cristiano Amon framed the acquisition as solving a core industry problem and giving developers a way to deploy AI "efficiently across any hardware while maximizing performance," rather than being locked into a single vendor's ecosystem. Modular’s technology is designed to support multiple silicon platforms, including chips from Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and other semiconductor companies.
Alongside the Modular acquisition, Qualcomm announced a multi-year agreement with BMW Group to supply compute silicon for the automaker’s next-generation digital cockpit and advanced driver assistance and automated driving (ADAS/AD) systems.
The agreement covers Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio, including Snapdragon Cockpit and Snapdragon Ride platforms. Qualcomm said the partnership builds on years of collaboration with BMW and will support future vehicle platforms that rely on increased computing power and AI capabilities.
The companies previously worked together on BMW’s Snapdragon Ride Pilot system, which launched commercially in November 2025 in the BMW iX3, the first vehicle under BMW’s Neue Klasse program.
QCOM’s stock has fallen nearly 7% this year and has traded flat over the past 12 months.
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