Street View: Qualcomm's market position challenged by Apple and economic downturn

Qualcomm QCOM.O on Wednesday forecast third-quarter revenue that would not meet estimates, joining other tech companies such as Snap and Samsung that voiced concerns about the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war

Mobile chip designer shares down 5.75% at $139.92 in premarket trading

BALANCING THE SILICON SCALES

J.P. Morgan ("overweight," PT: $185) says despite co's strong performance, it's hard to be optimistic about the near future due to expected declines in the economy, consumer spending, and in turn smartphone industry in the back half of the calendar year, incorporating limited headwinds at this time

Piper Sandler ("overweight," PT: $190) sees management continuing to reposition the business ahead of the internal modem threat coming from Apple AAPL.O, while still expecting to maintain around 70% modem share at this year's launch

TD Cowen ("buy," PT: $160) says "the Apple loss is a reality that is settling in", but sees positive offsets in the handset market with higher shares at Samsung 005930.KS and Xiaomi 1810.HK, growing average selling prices, and increased presence in the Android ecosystem, which makes up about 80% of the smartphone market

Oppenheimer ("perform") sees structural risks for Qualcomm due to increasing competition in the baseband market and better-positioned radio frequency companies with top smartphone makers

"AAPL remains a multi-year overhang, keeping us sidelined," adds Oppenheimer