Sifting through countless of stocks in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Microchip Technology Incorporated or QUALCOMM Incorporated because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated

Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Semiconductor Products and Technology Licensing. The company offers general-purpose 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit mixed-signal microcontrollers; 32-bit and 64-bit embedded mixed-signal microprocessors; and specialized mixed-signal microcontrollers for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power supplies, motor control, human-machine interface, security, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity applications. It also provides analog products, including power management, linear, mixed-signal, high voltage, thermal management, discrete diodes and MOSFETs, radio frequency (RF), gate drivers, safety, security, timing, application-specific standard products, USB, Ethernet, wireless, and other interface products; field-programmable gate array (FPGA) products; and application development tools that enable system designers to program mixed-signal microcontroller, FPGA, and microprocessor products. In addition, the company offers memory products consisting of serial electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, serial flash memories, parallel flash memories, serial static random-access memory, and electrically erasable random-access memory for footprint devices. Further, it licenses its SuperFlash embedded flash and non-volatile memory technologies to foundries, integrated device manufacturers, and design partners for use in the manufacture of microcontroller products, gate arrays, RF, analog, and neuromorphic compute products. Additionally, the company offers engineering services; wafer foundry, assembly, and test subcontracting manufacturing services; and timing systems, application-specific integrated circuits, and products for aerospace applications. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona.

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software with connectivity and computing technologies for use in mobile devices; automotive systems for connectivity, digital cockpit, and ADAS/AD; and IoT, including consumer electronic devices, industrial devices, and edge networking products. The QTL segment grants licenses or provides rights to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio, which include various patent rights useful in the manufacture and sale of wireless products comprising products implementing LTE, and/or OFDMA-based 5G products and derivatives; to use cellular standard-essential patents, including 3G, 4G and 5G for cellular devices. The QSI segment invests in early-stage companies in various industries, including 5G, artificial intelligence, automotive, consumer, enterprise, cloud, IoT, and extended reality, and investments, including non-marketable equity securities and, to a lesser extent, marketable equity securities, and convertible debt instruments. It also provides development, and other services and sells related products to the United States government agencies and their contractors. In addition, the company is also involved in Qualcomm government technologies and data center businesses. Further, it provides security and intelligence services for unmanaged networks through software-based network security solutions. The company is in collaboration with Amazon to enable customized silicon at scale for large-scale AI data centers. QUALCOMM Incorporated was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Latest Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and Microchip Technology Incorporated, QUALCOMM Incorporated Stock News

As of September 11, 2026, Microchip Technology Incorporated had a $40.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment median of $4.9 million. Microchip Technology Incorporated’s stock is up 16.4% in 2026, up 1.5% in the previous five trading days and up 14.61% in the past year.

Currently, Microchip Technology Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 109.4. Microchip Technology Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.1 billion with a 9.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 38.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.647 per share for the current fiscal year. Microchip Technology Incorporated currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

As of September 11, 2026, QUALCOMM Incorporated had a $194.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. QUALCOMM Incorporated’s stock is up 6.4% in 2026, up 7.9% in the previous five trading days and up 14.48% in the past year.

Currently, QUALCOMM Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 21.2. QUALCOMM Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $44.1 billion with a 21.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.525 per share for the current fiscal year. QUALCOMM Incorporated currently has a 2.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Microchip Technology Incorporated	MCHP	B
QUALCOMM Incorporated	QCOM	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Microchip Technology Incorporated has a Quality Score of 79, which is Strong. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a Quality Score of 94, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: QUALCOMM Incorporated

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, QUALCOMM Incorporated has a better overall quality grade than Microchip Technology Incorporated. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, QUALCOMM Incorporated could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Microchip Technology Incorporated	MCHP	C
QUALCOMM Incorporated	QCOM	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Microchip Technology Incorporated has a Momentum Score of 43, which is Average. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a Momentum Score of 51, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Microchip Technology Incorporated or QUALCOMM Incorporated has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Microchip Technology Incorporated or QUALCOMM Incorporated is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Microchip Technology Incorporated	MCHP	B
QUALCOMM Incorporated	QCOM	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Microchip Technology Incorporated has a Earnings Estimate Score of 70, which is Positive. QUALCOMM Incorporated has a Earnings Estimate Score of 36, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Microchip Technology Incorporated

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Microchip Technology Incorporated has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than QUALCOMM Incorporated. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Microchip Technology Incorporated could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated Grades

In addition to Momentum, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Microchip Technology Incorporated or QUALCOMM Incorporated Stock?

Overall, Microchip Technology Incorporated stock has a Momentum Score of 43, Estimate Revisions Score of 70 and Quality Score of 79.

QUALCOMM Incorporated stock has a Momentum Score of 51, Estimate Revisions Score of 36 and Quality Score of 94.

Comparing Microchip Technology Incorporated and QUALCOMM Incorporated’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.