Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM)

The financial data over the periods reflect several notable trends in operational efficiency, liquidity, leverage, profitability, and returns. The analysis includes an assessment of both reported and adjusted figures to provide a comprehensive view.

Total Asset Turnover

The reported total asset turnover ratio displays an initial increase from 0.66 in 2020 to a peak of 0.9 in 2022, followed by a decline to 0.7 and 0.71 in 2023 and 2024 before rising again to 0.88 in 2025. The adjusted ratios follow a similar pattern but maintain consistently slightly higher values, suggesting that operational asset efficiency improved significantly up to 2022, temporarily declined, and rebounded in the most recent year.

Current Ratio

Liquidity as measured by the current ratio shows a downward movement from 2.14 in 2020 to 1.68 in 2021, remaining relatively stable through 2022. However, there is a marked improvement from 2023 onward, reaching 2.82 in 2025. The adjusted current ratio parallels this trend but consistently remains slightly above the reported figures, indicating strengthening short-term liquidity in recent years.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The reported debt to equity ratio demonstrates a significant reduction from 2.59 in 2020 to 0.56 by 2024, with a slight increase to 0.7 in 2025. The adjusted ratio shows a similar pattern, with a moderate uptick after 2023. This indicates a strong deleveraging trend until 2024, followed by a conservative increase in leverage.

Debt to Capital Ratio

Corresponding to the debt to equity trends, the debt to capital ratio illustrates a consistent decrease from around 0.72 in 2020 to 0.36 in 2024, then a minor rise to 0.41 in 2025. Both reported and adjusted figures align closely, confirming the company’s progression toward lower capital leverage with a cautious increase at the end.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage shows a substantial decline from high levels (around 5.8 reported) in 2020 to approximately 2.1 in 2024, with a marginal increase to 2.36 in 2025. Adjusted financial leverage trends are comparable. This reduction supports the debt reduction narrative and indicates less reliance on debt financing over the years, improving financial stability.

Net Profit Margin

The reported net profit margin increases from 22.09% in 2020 to a peak near 29.27% in 2022 before falling sharply to 20.19% in 2023 and further fluctuating down to 12.51% in 2025. Adjusted margins show a similar pattern but with smaller variations and a recovery to 22.58% in 2025. These trends suggest volatility in profitability, especially in the latter periods, with some recovery indicated by the adjusted figures.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on equity declines significantly from an extremely high level of 85.54% in 2020 to 26.13% in 2025, with a low point of 33.51% in 2023 and slight recovery thereafter. Adjusted ROE mirrors this trajectory but records a stronger rebound to 47.61% in 2025. The downward trend reflects moderating profitability relative to equity despite some recent improvement.

Return on Assets (ROA)

The reported return on assets grows from 14.6% in 2020 to a peak of 26.39% in 2022, declines thereafter to 11.05% in 2025. The adjusted ROA shows a parallel but smoother curve, dipping to 12.51% in 2023 but rising back to 20.26% in 2025. These patterns indicate challenges in asset productivity during recent years with a partial recovery underway.

Overall, the financial indicators reveal a period of strengthening operational efficiency and liquidity from 2020 to 2022, followed by some fluctuations in subsequent years. The company has notably reduced its leverage, improving financial risk profiles. Profitability metrics show considerable volatility, particularly after 2022, with adjusted figures suggesting some stabilization or recovery by 2025. These mixed trends suggest the company has enhanced its financial structure but faces challenges in maintaining consistent profitability and asset utilization in recent periods.

Revenues

The revenues experienced significant fluctuations over the analyzed periods. There was a marked increase from 23,531 million USD to 44,200 million USD between 2020 and 2022, indicating strong growth. However, revenues declined to 35,820 million USD in 2023 before gradually rising again to 44,284 million USD by 2025, suggesting a recovery phase.

Total Assets

Total assets showed an overall upward trend from 35,594 million USD in 2020 to a peak of 55,154 million USD in 2024. In 2025, a decrease to 50,143 million USD was observed, indicating a possible reallocation or depreciation of assets after a period of expansion.

Reported Total Asset Turnover

The reported total asset turnover ratio increased steadily from 0.66 in 2020 to a high of 0.9 in 2022, indicating improved efficiency in using assets to generate revenues. This was followed by a decline to 0.7 in 2023 and a slight recovery to 0.88 in 2025, mirroring the revenue and asset fluctuations.

Adjusted Revenues

Adjusted revenues closely tracked the reported revenues with slight variations. They increased from 23,135 million USD in 2020 to 43,737 million USD in 2022, then dropped to 35,699 million USD in 2023, and finally rose to 44,328 million USD in 2025. This consistency suggests adjustments had a minimal impact on overall revenue trends.

Adjusted Total Assets

Adjusted total assets followed a similar pattern as reported total assets, rising from 34,243 million USD in 2020 to 49,992 million USD in 2024 before slightly decreasing to 49,400 million USD in 2025. This indicates consistency in asset valuation adjustments over time.

Adjusted Total Asset Turnover

The adjusted total asset turnover ratio also increased from 0.68 in 2020 to a peak of 0.93 in 2022, reflecting improved asset utilization. It decreased to 0.75 in 2023 and then improved again to 0.9 in 2025, consistent with the trends in reported asset turnover ratios.

Overall Insights

The data reflects a period of growth followed by some volatility around 2023, likely linked to external or internal operational challenges. Both revenues and asset turnover ratios peaked in 2022, declined in 2023, then showed recovery signs by 2025. The asset base expanded substantially through 2024, supporting revenue growth, but contracted slightly afterward. Asset turnover ratios indicate efficient utilization of assets, with some variability coinciding with revenue fluctuations.

Current assets

Current assets have displayed a consistent upward trend over the examined periods. Starting at 18,519 million US dollars, the figure rose steadily each year, reaching 25,754 million US dollars in the latest period. This represents a substantial increase, indicating a growing asset base available for the short term.

Current liabilities

Current liabilities exhibited some variability, increasing notably from 8,672 million US dollars to a peak of 11,951 million US dollars by the second period. After that, they declined in the following years, ending at 9,144 million US dollars. This fluctuation suggests efforts to reduce short-term obligations after a prior peak.

Reported current ratio

The reported current ratio, which measures liquidity by comparing current assets to current liabilities, displayed a decline initially, moving from 2.14 to 1.68. However, from the period corresponding to September 2022 onward, the current ratio improved significantly, reaching 2.82 by the last period. This improvement reflects enhanced liquidity and better capacity to meet short-term liabilities.

Adjusted current liabilities

Adjusted current liabilities, which may exclude certain items from the reported liabilities, followed a pattern similar to the reported current liabilities. They peaked at 11,497 million US dollars in the third period, then decreased steadily to 8,786 million US dollars in the final period. This decline supports the observation of strengthened short-term financial position.

Adjusted current ratio

The adjusted current ratio shows a trend consistent with the reported current ratio. It decreased initially from 2.29 to 1.77, before rising continuously from the third period onwards, reaching 2.93 in the most recent period. This indicates a persistent improvement in liquidity when adjusted liabilities are considered.

The financial data reviewed reveals several notable trends in the company’s capital structure and leverage over the reported periods.

Total Debt and Adjusted Total Debt

Total debt values show a gradual decrease from 15,726 million US dollars in 2020 to 14,634 million in 2024, with a slight increase to 14,811 million in 2025. Adjusted total debt follows a similar pattern, decreasing from 16,231 million US dollars in 2020 to 15,440 million in 2024, then slightly rising to 15,643 million in 2025. This indicates a modest reduction in overall debt levels over the long term, which may reflect efforts to deleverage or optimize the debt structure.

Stockholders’ Equity and Adjusted Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity displays significant growth from 6,077 million US dollars in 2020 to a peak of 26,274 million in 2024, before declining to 21,206 million in 2025. Adjusted stockholders’ equity exhibits a comparable trend, increasing from 6,111 million to 21,611 million in the same timeframe and decreasing slightly to 21,023 million in 2025. These trends suggest strong equity growth, enhancing the company’s net worth substantially until 2024, followed by a mild reduction in the final recorded year.

Debt-to-Equity Ratios

The reported debt-to-equity ratio decreases markedly from 2.59 in 2020 to 0.56 in 2024, indicating a significant reduction in financial leverage, implying that the company has been strengthening its equity base relative to debt. In 2025, this ratio experiences a slight uptick to 0.70. The adjusted debt-to-equity ratio mirrors this trajectory, falling from 2.66 in 2020 to 0.71 in 2024 before increasing marginally to 0.74 in 2025. These ratios confirm the trend of deleveraging and improved solvency over the period, with a modest increase in leverage in the most recent year.

Overall, the data portrays a company that has strengthened its equity position considerably over the five-year horizon, simultaneously reducing reliance on debt. The slight rebound in debt levels and corresponding increase in leverage ratios in the final year might warrant further investigation to understand underlying causes, whether strategic borrowing or other financial dynamics.

The analysis of Qualcomm Inc.'s financial leverage over the six-year period from 2020 to 2025 reveals significant trends in debt and capital structure.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibited a gradual decline from US$15,726 million in 2020 to US$14,634 million in 2024, showing a reduction in absolute debt levels. However, in 2025, there is a slight increase to US$14,811 million, indicating a small reversal in the debt reduction trend.

Total Capital

Total capital shows a strong upward trend from US$21,803 million in 2020 to a peak of US$40,908 million in 2024, followed by a decrease to US$36,017 million in 2025. This suggests considerable growth in the company’s capital base over the period, albeit with some contraction in the latest year.

Reported Debt to Capital Ratio

The reported debt to capital ratio decreased steadily from 0.72 in 2020 to a low of 0.36 in 2024. This decline signifies a consistent improvement in the company’s capital structure with reduced reliance on debt financing relative to capital. In 2025, the ratio increased moderately to 0.41, reflecting a slight increase in leverage.

Adjusted Total Debt

Adjusted total debt follows a pattern similar to reported total debt, starting at US$16,231 million in 2020 and declining to US$15,440 million in 2024, before rising slightly to US$15,643 million in 2025. The adjustments produce marginally higher debt figures compared to reported totals but mirror the same overall trend.

Adjusted Total Capital

The adjusted total capital increased from US$22,342 million in 2020 to US$37,051 million in 2024. The figure slightly decreased to US$36,666 million in 2025, indicating stability at elevated levels after strong growth over the previous years.

Adjusted Debt to Capital Ratio

The adjusted debt to capital ratio dropped from 0.73 in 2020 to 0.42 in 2024, signifying a marked reduction in financial leverage on an adjusted basis. In 2025, the ratio increased marginally to 0.43, reinforcing the pattern observed with the reported debt to capital ratio.

Overall, the data indicates a general commitment to reducing leverage by lowering debt relative to the expanding capital base through 2024, enhancing the financial stability of the company. The slight increases in debt and leverage ratios in 2025 suggest a potential reassessment of capital structure or increased borrowing in the most recent period, but leverage remains substantially below the earlier levels observed in 2020. This pattern reflects prudent financial management with focus on strengthening equity and capital resources.

Total Assets

Total assets showed a consistent upward trend from 35,594 million US dollars in 2020 to a peak of 55,154 million US dollars in 2024, followed by a decrease to 50,143 million US dollars in 2025. This pattern indicates sustained growth over the first five years with a slight contraction in the most recent year.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity increased markedly from 6,077 million US dollars in 2020 to 26,274 million US dollars in 2024, reflecting significant strengthening in the company’s net worth. However, this was followed by a decline to 21,206 million US dollars in 2025, suggesting a potential distribution or revaluation impacting equity levels in the latest period.

Reported Financial Leverage

The reported financial leverage ratio steadily declined from 5.86 in 2020 to 2.10 in 2024, indicating a reduction in debt relative to equity. In 2025, a slight increase to 2.36 was observed, signaling a modest rise in leverage but still maintaining a significantly lower level than earlier years.

Adjusted Total Assets

Adjusted total assets followed a similar trend to reported total assets, increasing from 34,243 million US dollars in 2020 to 49,992 million US dollars in 2024. In 2025, a slight decrease to 49,400 million US dollars was noted, closely mirroring the reported assets pattern and implying consistent adjustments applied across the periods.

Adjusted Stockholders’ Equity

Adjusted stockholders’ equity rose from 6,111 million US dollars in 2020 to 21,611 million US dollars in 2024, indicating improved fundamentals under adjusted measures. A marginal decrease to 21,023 million US dollars in 2025 was present, paralleling the drop in reported equity but less pronounced.

Adjusted Financial Leverage

The adjusted financial leverage ratio decreased from 5.60 in 2020 to 2.31 in 2024, consistent with the reported leverage trend and reflecting deleveraging efforts. In 2025, the ratio slightly increased to 2.35, reinforcing a minor reversal in the leverage reduction trend but maintaining overall lower leverage compared to the start of the period.

Summary

Over the analyzed period, there is a clear pattern of asset growth coupled with significant equity strengthening, leading to a substantial reduction in financial leverage. The trends in both reported and adjusted figures corroborate this narrative, suggesting improved financial stability and decreased reliance on debt funding. The slight decreases in asset and equity values, along with minor upticks in leverage ratios in 2025, may indicate a strategic shift or external factors influencing financial positioning. Overall, the company has shown improved financial health and capital structure optimization over the years.

Revenue Trends

Revenues demonstrated a generally upward trajectory over the observation period. Starting at approximately $23.5 billion in 2020, revenues increased notably to $44.2 billion by 2022. Although there was a decline to about $35.8 billion in 2023, revenues recovered and reached a new high of roughly $44.3 billion by 2025.

Net Income and Profitability

Net income showed significant volatility. After increasing strongly from $5.2 billion in 2020 to a peak of $12.9 billion in 2022, net income declined to $7.2 billion in 2023, rebounded to $10.1 billion in 2024, and then fell sharply again to $5.5 billion in 2025. This fluctuation was reflected in the reported net profit margin, which rose from 22.1% in 2020 to a high of 29.3% in 2022, before dropping to as low as 12.5% in 2025, indicating a considerable squeeze on profitability in the most recent year.

Adjusted Income and Margins

Adjusted net income closely followed the trend of reported net income but showed a smoother trajectory. It increased from $4.7 billion in 2020 to $12.4 billion in 2022, then decreased to $6.0 billion in 2023. Notably, adjusted net income then rose to $10.0 billion by 2025, contrasting with the reported net income drop in that year. The adjusted net profit margin followed a similar pattern, climbing from 20.3% in 2020 to 28.3% in 2022, falling to 16.7% in 2023, but then improving to 22.6% by 2025. This suggests that adjustments capture factors smoothing out some of the volatility observed in reported figures.

Insights and Observations

The data shows that the company experienced strong growth in revenues up to 2022, aligned with improving profitability margins, both reported and adjusted. However, the sharp declines in net income and margins in 2023, followed by a partial recovery and divergence between reported and adjusted figures by 2025, indicate potential one-time charges, non-operational items, or accounting adjustments affecting net income. Despite these fluctuations, the recovery in adjusted net income and margins in 2024 and 2025 points to an underlying operational resilience.

The financial data reveals several noteworthy trends over the examined periods. Net income exhibited significant fluctuations, rising sharply from 5,198 million USD in the initial period to a peak of 12,936 million USD, followed by a considerable decline in subsequent years, reaching 5,541 million USD in the latest period. In contrast, stockholders’ equity showed a generally increasing trend, growing from 6,077 million USD to a peak of 26,274 million USD, before declining to 21,206 million USD in the last period.

The reported Return on Equity (ROE) percentages demonstrate a marked downward trajectory. Starting at a high of 85.54%, reported ROE peaked at 90.88%, then progressively decreased to 26.13% in the final year. This decline indicates that despite growth in equity, the efficiency in generating net income from equity has diminished substantially over time.

Adjusted net income figures parallel the trends seen in net income, rising initially to 12,364 million USD, followed by fluctuations and ending with an increase to 10,010 million USD. Adjusted stockholders’ equity also rose steadily from 6,111 million USD to a peak of 21,611 million USD, before a slight decrease to 21,023 million USD.

Adjusted ROE follows a similar pattern to reported ROE but with some variation. It peaked at 89.09%, then sharply dropped to 31.81%, and interestingly rose again to 47.61% in the latest period. This suggests that after a period of reduced profitability relative to equity, adjusted earnings performance has shown signs of recovery, indicating improved income generation efficiency when adjustments are taken into account.

Net income trends

Initial strong growth followed by notable decline and partial recovery.

Stockholders’ equity trends

Steady growth with peak values mid-term, followed by a recent decline.

Reported ROE trends

High initial values with a sustained downward trend indicating decreasing profitability relative to equity.

Adjusted net income trends

Growth to a peak, then fluctuation with eventual increase, reflecting adjusted earnings patterns.

Adjusted stockholders’ equity trends

Consistent growth followed by slight decrease, similar to unadjusted equity.

Adjusted ROE trends

High initial ROE followed by significant drop and later recovery, suggesting improved income efficiency after adjustment.

In summary, the company’s financial performance demonstrates volatility in income generation, alongside equity growth that peaks and then declines. While reported ROE indicates a reduction in profitability efficiency, adjusted ROE suggests some recovery in earnings capacity in the most recent period. These patterns imply dynamic operational conditions and potential changes in underlying business factors affecting profitability and equity utilization.

Net Income

The net income experienced a significant increase from 5,198 million USD in 2020 to a peak of 12,936 million USD in 2022. However, it declined sharply in 2023 to 7,232 million USD, recovered to 10,142 million USD in 2024, and then decreased again to 5,541 million USD in 2025. This pattern indicates notable volatility in profitability over the observed period.

Total Assets

Total assets showed a steady upward trend from 35,594 million USD in 2020 to 55,154 million USD in 2024, reflecting asset growth. A decline was observed in 2025, with assets dropping to 50,143 million USD, suggesting some contraction or asset disposals in that final year of data.

Reported Return on Assets (ROA)

Reported ROA increased markedly from 14.6% in 2020 to a high of 26.39% in 2022, signaling improving efficiency in asset use to generate profit. Post-2022, ROA declined considerably to 14.17% in 2023, partially recovered to 18.39% in 2024, and dropped further to 11.05% in 2025, reflecting deteriorating returns relative to assets in recent years.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted net income followed a trend similar to reported net income, increasing from 4,693 million USD in 2020 to 12,364 million USD in 2022. It then decreased sharply to 5,972 million USD in 2023, rose to 8,444 million USD in 2024, and increased again to 10,010 million USD in 2025, indicating variability in core earnings excluding adjustments.

Adjusted Total Assets

Adjusted total assets grew consistently from 34,243 million USD in 2020 to 49,992 million USD in 2024, before a slight decline to 49,400 million USD in 2025. This aligns closely with the trends observed in total assets, showing steady asset expansion followed by stabilization.

Adjusted Return on Assets (ROA)

The adjusted ROA increased significantly from 13.7% in 2020 to 26.19% in 2022, demonstrating strong operational performance up to that year. Subsequently, it dropped to 12.51% in 2023, rebounded to 16.89% in 2024, and improved further to 20.26% in 2025, suggesting a recovery in operational efficiency after the 2023 decline.