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Qualcomm (QCOM) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal fourth quarter after the market closes on November 6 with a conference call scheduled for 4:45 pm ET. What to watch for:

GUIDANCE: Along with its last report, Qualcomm guided for Q4 adjusted earnings per share of $2.45-$2.65 on revenue of $9.5B-$10.3B. At the time, analysts were expecting the company to report Q4 EPS of $2.45 on revenue of $9.71B, but those figures have since risen to $2.56 and $9.9B, respectively.

JPMORGAN CUTS PT: Earlier this week, JPMorgan lowered the firm's price target on Qualcomm to $195 from $210 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares as part of a Q3 earnings preview. Qualcomm is challenged by the lack of recovery in the smartphone market, the analyst told investors in a research note. However, the firm said that despite the softer end market outlook for the specific end-markets Qualcomm is involved in, it believes "conservative" near-term forecasts are less impacted.

SUSQUEHANNA CUTS PT: Last month, Susquehanna lowered the firm's price target on Qualcomm to $230 from $250 and kept a Positive rating on the shares. The firm previewed Q3 results for semiconductors and expects continued broad-based headwinds, particularly for Automotive and Industrial as momentum began to slow late summer. For PC, they expect notebook builds to be up for 2024 with slightly slower builds into year-end as AI PCs were not the driver most were hoping for. For Handsets, they forecast smartphone shipments to increase in 2024. For Data Center, recent server checks support a slightly stronger 2H24, driven in part by AMD/Genoa share gains. For A.I., checks remain solid, and expect hyperscaler capex revisions to support 2H and into next year.

INTEL: Just days after Intel's (INTC) major Foundry update, the Wall Street Journal's Lauren Thomas and Laura Cooper reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Qualcomm (QCOM) made a takeover approach to Intel. Such a deal would be "massive and come at a time when the chipmaker is sputtering," the authors said. A couple day slater, Bloomberg reported that Apollo Global (APO) has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Intel, in a move that would be a vote of confidence in the chipmaker's turnaround strategy, according to people familiar with the matter.

The next day, however, a person close to Qualcomm told the Financial Times that the chipmaker would only pursue a friendly deal for Intel, though people with knowledge of Intel's thinking say the company is concerned that a deal would be hampered by antitrust regulators, The Financial Times' Maria Heeter, James Fontanella-Khan, and Bryce Elder report. Intel is working with Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) to evaluate Qualcomm's approach, people with knowledge of the matter say, adding that Intel is considering a wide range of asset sales. CNBC had previously reported that investment bankers from Morgan Stanley have been advising Intel for several months on how to defend itself from activist investors.

In mid-October, Bloomberg reported that Qualcomm would likely wait until after the U.S. presidential election before deciding whether to pursue an offer to acquire Intel. The company is seeking greater clarity on the new occupant of the White House before deciding its next move because of the impact any future administration would have on the antitrust landscape and America's relationship with China, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

CHINA AI INVESTMENTS: Late in October, Reuters reported that the Biden administration is finalizing a rule that will limit U.S. investments in AI and other technology sectors in China that could threaten national security. The rules cover three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The new rules will go into effect on January 2 and will be overseen by the Treasury's new Office of Global Transactions.

POTENTIAL CHIPS ACT REPEAL: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said last Friday that the Republicans "probably will" try to repeal the CHIPS Act, but then walked it back, saying the GOP may "further streamline" the bill, Stephen Groves of The Associated Press reported. A reporter had asked Johnson whether he would try to repeal the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had disparaged last week. "I expect that we probably will, but we haven't developed that part of the agenda yet," Johnson replied. Investors will await further updates on this matter following this week's election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.

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