Despite near term uncertainty in smartphone demand, Bernstein remains convinced that Qualcomm offers substantial value through a durable earnings model and a growing mix of licensing, chipset sales, and strategic partnerships.

On February 2, a note from the Bernstein SocGen Group led by Stacy Rasgon trimmed the stock's price target to 200 from 215 while keeping an Outperform rating.

The move signals a tempered view on near term catalysts but reinforces a constructive longer term thesis built on improving royalty streams, a broadening product cycle, and expanding AI opportunities.

Management diversification into automotive technology and data center collaborations complements the core licensing business and provides multiple levers for sustained cash flow and margin resilience.

The research highlights meaningful optionality from AI driven workloads and potential licensing wins that could unlock additional value from Qualcomm's platform and ecosystem.

While risks such as competition and macro softness remain, the note stresses that a recovering smartphone cycle and enterprise demand could reaccelerate growth and support a higher multiple over time.

Overall Bernstein maintains a constructive stance on Qualcomm as an AI stock with durable cash generation and a multi horizon growth narrative that could justify a higher market multiple.