META
QCOM
New phone who dis?
Qualcomm showed up to its 2026 Investor Day and basically said, “Sure, phones are fine — but have you seen our new AI data center side hustle?” The company raised its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue target to $40 billion, doubled down on ambitions for automotive and IoT, and set a long-term goal of more than $18 in non-GAAP diluted EPS. That’s the kind of number glow-up investors like to see.
Meta makes the entrance
The juiciest bit: Qualcomm announced a multi-generation agreement to supply data center CPUs for Meta Platforms. The first Dragonfly C1000 CPU is slated to power Meta’s next-gen server fleet, with production expected to kick off in the second half of 2028. In other words, Qualcomm is trying to muscle into the big leagues of AI infrastructure, where the chips are expensive and the bragging rights are even more expensive.
Not just one shiny deal
Qualcomm also said it expanded its partnership with Hugging Face to make AI deployment easier from edge devices to the cloud. And because one headline was not enough, it revealed plans to acquire Modular, an AI software platform that could help its chips play nicer across CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, and custom silicon. It’s a classic diversification play: less “all eggs in the handset basket,” more “let’s build a whole new orchard.”
Why investors are paying attention
The stock popped 10.53% to $218.20 in premarket trading, which tells you the market is willing to reward a convincing growth story — especially when it comes with an AI label attached. Big picture: Qualcomm is trying to transform from a mature phone-chip company into a broader AI infrastructure player, and Thursday’s move says Wall Street is at least willing to listen.