Core Viewpoint - Bank of America has lowered Qualcomm's target price from $245 to $200, citing short-term challenges due to slowing smartphone market growth, but maintains a "buy" rating due to Qualcomm's long-term growth potential in emerging sectors like IoT, automotive, and AI [1] Smartphone Market Challenges - Qualcomm's core business, smartphone chips, which account for 73% of QCT revenue, is facing growth pressure as the smartphone market nears its peak with a lack of significant growth catalysts [2] - The contribution of Apple to Qualcomm's QCT mobile business is expected to decline from 13% in 2025 to 6% by 2027, creating a difficult gap to fill [2] - Increased competition from Huawei and Xiaomi, along with a rising risk in the Chinese market, is anticipated to impact Qualcomm's smartphone business negatively [2] Growth in IoT and Automotive Electronics - Despite challenges in the smartphone sector, Qualcomm's performance in non-mobile areas is strong, with IoT and automotive electronics emerging as key growth drivers [3][4] - The non-mobile business is projected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% from 2024 to 2029, with AI PCs expected to significantly contribute to IoT revenue [3] - Qualcomm aims to achieve $8 billion in automotive revenue by fiscal year 2029, with a projected CAGR of 22.5% over the next five years [4] Attractive Valuation and Long-term Strategy - Qualcomm's current price-to-earnings ratio is 12, below the historical average of 15-18, indicating attractive valuation [5] - The company is diversifying its business to reduce reliance on smartphones, actively investing in high-growth areas such as automotive, IoT, AI PCs, and data center connectivity [5]