QCOM Stock Hit Record Highs Today – What’s Driving The Super Rally?

• The Chinese tech giant is set to become one of Qualcomm's first major customers for the AI-focused chips.
• On Qualcomm's second-quarter earnings call in late April, the CEO had confirmed that the company had secured a ‘leading hyperscaler custom silicon engagement.’
• According to a South China Morning Post report, ByteDance boosted its 2026 AI infrastructure budget by 25% to RMB200 billion (about $29.4 billion).

Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) hit record highs on Tuesday after the chipmaker reportedly signed a deal with TikTok owner ByteDance as a marquee customer for its AI data center chips – a breakthrough for Qualcomm that has been pushing to diversify beyond smartphones. 

ByteDance is set to procure millions of Qualcomm application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, to power the social media giant's AI agent software, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private, Bloomberg reported.

QCOM’s First Chinese Major Hyperscaler

The Chinese tech giant is set to become one of Qualcomm's first major customers for the AI-focused chips, validating Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon's push to diversify the company beyond smartphones into AI data center infrastructure.

On Qualcomm's second quarter earnings call in late April, Amon confirmed that the company had secured a "leading hyperscaler custom silicon engagement." He noted that discussions were on track for initial shipments later this year, describing it as a "multi-generation partnership."

During the earnings call, management stated that the company would outline its growth initiatives, including opportunities in data centers and physical AI, at an Investor Day on June 24.

According to a South China Morning Post report, ByteDance boosted its 2026 AI infrastructure budget by 25% to RMB200 billion (about $29.4 billion), up from an earlier plan of RMB160 billion.

The Landscape of AI Chips

Nvidia (NVDA) has been a dominant player in the AI chip market, while Alphabet Inc.’s Google (GOOG, GOOGL), AMD (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO), and other major tech giants have made inroads in this space. 

Broadcom alone expects the AI chip revenue to hit over $100 billion in 2027, the company’s CEO stated during the first-quarter earnings call.

What Retail Thinks Of QCOM

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment surrounding the stock has remained ‘bearish’ amid ‘low‘ message volumes over the past 24 hours.

Shares of Qualcomm have risen by over 43% so far this year.

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