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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Lam Research vs QUALCOMM: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Lam Research holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. QUALCOMM still has the edge on valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. On the market side, Lam Research is in better shape — its trend is intact while QUALCOMM's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Lam Research's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-08-16

The lead is spread across growth and profitability, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. The overall score gap is 15 points in favour of Lam Research Corporation.

Trajectory Similarity
0.67
Moderately similar
Peer-set rank: #12
within Lam Research Corporation's functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair shares a valid long-term profile match, but the trajectories are not especially close.

Most of the shared profile comes through capital structure and revenue stability.

Similarity drivers
capital structurerevenue stability
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
LRCX
Lam Research Corporation
56
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
QCOM
QUALCOMM Incorporated
41
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: LRCX vs QCOM Profitability 82 22 Stability 31 39 Valuation 34 85 Growth 75 4 LRCX QCOM
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +71
#2 Profitability +60
#3 Valuation +51
#4 Stability +8
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for LRCX and QCOM Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer LRCXQCOM Relative valuation Structural strength

Lam Research Corporation is stronger, but the price setup still looks more supportive for QUALCOMM Incorporated.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where LRCX and QCOM each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY LRCX Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 16 pct gap QCOM Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 98th 82nd
Today QCOM sits in the upper portion of its own 5-year history (82nd percentile), while LRCX sits higher in its own history (98th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, QCOM is at a historically more favourable entry position than LRCX. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Lam Research Corporation ranks near the top of the group on growth; QUALCOMM Incorporated sits in the weaker half.
Profitability
The same broad pattern appears on profitability: Lam Research Corporation ranks near the top of the group, while QUALCOMM Incorporated stays in the weaker half.
Growth — Dominant Gap
LRCX
75
QCOM
4
Gap+71in favour of LRCX

One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Valuation still leans toward QUALCOMM Incorporated, so the lead is real without reading as one-way.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and profitability — though valuation still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the LRCX vs QCOM comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how LRCX and QCOM each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.