Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM)

The financial data reveals notable fluctuations in key performance indicators over the analyzed periods.

Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT)

The NOPAT exhibited variability throughout the years. Initially, there was a decline from approximately $5,963 million in 2019 to $4,798 million in 2020. This was followed by a significant increase to $8,512 million in 2021 and a further rise to a peak of $13,145 million in 2022. Subsequently, there was a steep decline to $5,865 million in 2023, before recovering to $8,262 million in 2024. The trend indicates periods of both strong growth and sharp contraction, highlighting volatility in operating profitability within the timeframe.

Invested Capital

Invested capital showed a general upward trajectory over the years. It decreased from $21,089 million in 2019 to $17,459 million in 2020, followed by a gradual increase to $20,003 million in 2021. Thereafter, it rose substantially to $29,132 million in 2022 and continued its growth to reach $31,383 million in 2023. A slight decrease was observed in 2024 with invested capital recorded at $30,887 million. Overall, the trend denotes growing capital investment with a minor recent contraction.

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

The ROIC metric demonstrated significant changes over the periods. It started at 28.27% in 2019 and slightly decreased to 27.48% in 2020. The ratio then increased sharply, peaking at 42.56% in 2021 and further to 45.12% in 2022, reflecting improved efficiency in capital utilization. However, a notable decline occurred in 2023, bringing ROIC down to 18.69%, before recovering moderately to 26.75% in 2024. This pattern signifies fluctuations in the effectiveness of capital use, with a pronounced drop after 2022.

In summary, the company's financial performance over the years is characterized by volatility in profitability and returns, despite a steady increase in invested capital. The peaks in 2021 and 2022 in both NOPAT and ROIC suggest a period of high operational efficiency and profitability, followed by a downturn in 2023 and partial recovery in 2024. The divergence between rising invested capital and fluctuating returns highlights challenges in sustaining consistent earnings growth relative to the capital deployed.

The financial data exhibits variable trends across several key performance indicators over the analyzed periods.

Operating Profit Margin (OPM)

The operating profit margin shows considerable fluctuations throughout the periods. Starting at 29.86% in 2019, it decreased to 24.17% in 2020 then increased to a peak of 35.06% in 2022. However, this was followed by a sharp decline to 21.48% in 2023 before partially recovering to 26.67% in 2024. Overall, the margin demonstrates volatility with a generally downward movement after 2022.

Turnover of Capital (TO)

Turnover of capital increased from 1.13 in 2019 to a high of 1.66 in 2021, indicating improved efficiency in the utilization of invested capital during that period. Subsequently, it declined to 1.5 in 2022 and further to 1.14 in 2023, before a slight rebound to 1.26 in 2024. The trend points to a peak in 2021 followed by some loss in capital turnover efficiency in later years.

1 – Effective Cash Tax Rate (CTR)

The measure approximates the proportion of cash retained relative to tax obligations, showing high values consistently above 75%. It peaked around 85% in 2020-2022, indicating significant cash retention after taxes during those years. However, there was a decline to 76.49% in 2023 with a minor increase to 79.53% in 2024. This pattern suggests some increase in effective tax costs or decreased cash retention in recent periods.

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

Return on invested capital exhibited strong growth from 28.27% in 2019 to a peak of 45.12% in 2022, reflecting highly effective capital deployment during these years. The indicator sharply declined afterwards to 18.69% in 2023, recovering moderately to 26.75% in 2024. This indicates a significant reduction in capital returns post-2022, though not returning to earlier highs.

In summary, the company experienced notable performance improvements in profitability and capital efficiency up to 2021-2022, followed by declines in operating margin, capital turnover, cash tax efficiency, and return on invested capital in the most recent years. The partial rebounds in 2024 suggest some recovery efforts but overall volatility persists across the key financial ratios.

The financial data over the six-year period shows notable fluctuations and variations in key performance indicators. The following analysis highlights the main trends observed in net operating profit before taxes, adjusted revenues, and operating profit margin.

Net Operating Profit Before Taxes (NOPBT)

The NOPBT figures exhibit significant volatility throughout the period. Starting at 7,130 million US dollars in 2019, there is a decline to 5,591 million in 2020, representing a notable decrease. However, a strong recovery occurs in 2021 and 2022, with values increasing sharply to 9,996 and then 15,334 million, respectively. This upward trend suggests improved operational efficiency or favorable market conditions during those years. Subsequently, NOPBT declines to 7,667 million in 2023 but rises again to 10,389 million in 2024, indicating some instability but also a tendency toward recovery.

Adjusted Revenues

The adjusted revenues demonstrate a generally positive long-term growth trend despite some fluctuations. Revenues start at 23,878 million US dollars in 2019 and slightly decrease to 23,135 million in 2020, mirroring the NOPBT trend. A substantial increase follows, reaching a peak of 43,737 million in 2022, nearly doubling from 2019 levels. However, revenues drop to 35,699 million in 2023 before recovering moderately to 38,955 million in 2024. This pattern suggests periods of expansion followed by partial contraction, possibly linked to market dynamics or internal company factors.

Operating Profit Margin (OPM)

The operating profit margin reveals considerable variability across the years. Initially, the margin is high at approximately 29.9% in 2019 but decreases notably to 24.2% in 2020. Improvement is observed in 2021 and peaks at 35.1% in 2022, indicating increased profitability relative to revenues. However, a sharp decline to 21.5% in 2023 introduces concerns about cost control or pricing pressures affecting profitability. The margin partially recovers to 26.7% in 2024 but remains below the peak levels seen earlier in the period.

Overall, the data reflect a cyclical pattern with periods of strong growth and profitability followed by contractions and margin compression. This pattern may indicate sensitivity to external market conditions or internal operational adjustments affecting both revenue generation and cost management. The sharp peaks in 2022 across all metrics suggest an exceptional performance year, while the declines in 2023 highlight challenges that impacted financial outcomes. The partial recovery in 2024 may signal stabilization efforts or market improvements going forward.

Revenue Trends

The adjusted revenues exhibited a general upward trend over the period analyzed, increasing from 23,878 million US dollars in September 2019 to 38,955 million US dollars in September 2024. Notable growth occurred between 2020 and 2022, with revenues rising sharply from 23,135 million to 43,737 million US dollars. However, a decline was observed in 2023 when revenues dropped to 35,699 million before rebounding to 38,955 million in 2024.

Invested Capital Trends

Invested capital showed some fluctuations but generally increased from 21,089 million US dollars in 2019 to a peak of 31,383 million in 2023, before slightly decreasing to 30,887 million in 2024. The period between 2019 and 2020 saw a notable decline from 21,089 million to 17,459 million, followed by steady growth through 2023.

Turnover of Capital (TO) Trends

The turnover of capital ratio, representing efficiency of asset use, improved from 1.13 in 2019 to a peak of 1.66 in 2021, indicating increased effectiveness in generating revenues from capital invested. This ratio declined to 1.5 in 2022 and further to 1.14 in 2023, reflecting reduced capital efficiency, before recovering slightly to 1.26 in 2024.

Overall Analysis

The data reflects a company that generally expanded its revenue base significantly over the five-year span, particularly between 2020 and 2022. The invested capital levels rose steadily after an initial dip in 2020, suggesting an increase in asset base or investment activities. Capital efficiency, as measured by turnover of capital, peaked in 2021 but then declined, indicating that the company faced challenges in maintaining high levels of revenue generation relative to invested capital in subsequent years. Despite some recovery in 2024, the efficiency ratio remained below its earlier peak. The fluctuations in both revenue and capital efficiency may imply strategic adjustments or market conditions impacting operational performance during the period.

The financial data reveals several notable trends in the company's operating performance and tax-related metrics over the reported periods.

Net Operating Profit Before Taxes (NOPBT)

NOPBT exhibited significant fluctuations across the years. Initially, there was a decline from 7,130 million USD in 2019 to 5,591 million USD in 2020. This was followed by a substantial increase reaching a peak of 15,334 million USD in 2022. Subsequently, a sharp drop occurred in 2023, with NOPBT falling to 7,667 million USD, before partially recovering to 10,389 million USD in 2024. Overall, the data reflects volatility with a tendency to rebound after downturns.

Cash Operating Taxes

Cash operating taxes showed a generally increasing trend over the periods, notwithstanding some fluctuations. From 2019 to 2020, there was a decrease from 1,167 million USD to 793 million USD. However, the tax payments grew significantly thereafter, surging to 2,189 million USD in 2022. Although taxes decreased to 1,803 million USD in 2023, they rose again to 2,127 million USD in 2024. This suggests a correlation with changes in profitability but also points to variations in taxable income or tax management strategies.

Effective Cash Tax Rate (CTR)

The effective cash tax rate remained relatively stable and low between 2019 and 2022, ranging roughly between 14% and 16%. However, in 2023, there was a pronounced increase to 23.51%, before decreasing slightly to 20.47% in 2024. This significant rise in the tax rate during the later periods could indicate changes in tax regulations, tax planning effectiveness, or shifts in the composition of taxable income.

In summary, the company experienced considerable volatility in its pre-tax operating profits over the six-year span, with cash operating taxes generally moving in tandem but with some lag and divergence. The effective cash tax rate remained low and stable initially, followed by a notable upward shift in recent years, which impacts the overall tax burden relative to operating profits.