NEC vs Qualcomm: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
NEC reported ~$24B of revenue in FY2026 and ~$1.8B of net income. Qualcomm reported $44.3B of revenue in FY2025 and $5.5B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
NEC
NEC's numbers show a company trading revenue for margin. Revenue moved from ~$20.2 billion (3,014.1 billion yen) in FY22/3 to ~$24 billion (3,582.7 billion yen) in FY26/3, but the bigger change was profitability: FY26/3 adjusted operating profit reached ~$2.59 billion (386.8 billion yen) (10.8% margin, up 2.4 points), net profit attributable to owners was ~$1.81 billion (270.2 billion yen), and non-GAAP net profit was ~$1.87 billion (279.8 billion yen), a record under IFRS. Momentum carried into FY27/3: first-quarter revenue rose 14.5% to ~$5.49 billion (819.8 billion yen), net profit was ~$333 million (49.7 billion yen), and NEC raised full-year guidance to ~$23.7 billion (3,540 billion yen) revenue and ~$2.88 billion (430 billion yen) adjusted operating profit.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm's revenue has swung with the smartphone cycle: $44.2B in FY2022, $35.8B in FY2023, $39.0B in FY2024 and a record $44.284B in FY2025. FY2025 operating income was $12.355B, but GAAP net income dropped to $5.541B because of a large non-cash income tax charge booked in the September 2025 quarter. FY2026 has been tougher on the top line. Q2 revenue was $10.599B, and Q3 revenue fell 4% year over year to $9.9B with GAAP EPS of $1.87 and non-GAAP EPS of $2.21, as higher memory costs squeezed handset demand. QTL revenue was $1.3B in Q3. Qualcomm returned $2.3B to shareholders that quarter and guided Q4 FY2026 revenue to $9.7B-$10.5B.
Revenue and profit by year
NEC
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | ~$24B | ~$1.8B | 7.5% | +4.7% | Source |
| FY2025 | ~$22.9B | ~$1.2B | 5.1% | -1.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$23.3B | ~$1B | 4.3% | +5.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$22.2B | ~$767.1M | 3.5% | +9.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$20.2B | ~$946.6M | 4.7% | — | Source |
Qualcomm
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $44.3B | $5.5B | 12.5% | +13.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $39B | $10.1B | 26.0% | +8.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $35.8B | $7.2B | 20.2% | -19.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $44.2B | $12.9B | 29.3% | +31.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $33.6B | $9B | 26.9% | +42.6% | Source |
| FY2020 | $23.5B | $5.2B | 22.1% | -3.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $24.3B | $4.4B | 18.1% | +7.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | $22.6B | -$5B | -22.0% | +1.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $22.3B | $2.4B | 11.0% | -5.5% | Source |
| FY2016 | $23.6B | $5.7B | 24.2% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
NEC
- IT Services70.0%
FY26/3 revenue was ~$16.8 billion (2,508.9 billion yen), including Domestic IT and International digital government/digital finance work.
- Social Infrastructure26.1%
FY26/3 revenue was ~$6.27 billion (935.3 billion yen), including telecom services and aerospace/national security systems.
- Others3.9%
FY26/3 other revenue was ~$928 million (138.5 billion yen).
Qualcomm
- QCT Handsets~63%
Snapdragon processors, modems and RF chips for smartphones: $27.793B in FY2025. Handset revenue fell 20% to $5.1B in Q3 FY2026 as memory costs hurt phone demand.
- QCT IoT~15%
Chips for industrial devices, networking, XR headsets, PCs and consumer electronics: $6.617B in FY2025 and $1.8B in Q3 FY2026.
- QCT Automotive~9%
Snapdragon Digital Chassis cockpit, ADAS and connectivity platforms: $3.957B in FY2025, up from $2.9B in FY2024, and $1.6B in Q3 FY2026 (up 61%).
- QTL Licensing and other~13%
Royalties on Qualcomm's cellular patents plus smaller strategic initiatives. QTL revenue was $1.3B in Q3 FY2026 at a 69% EBT margin, making it a disproportionate profit contributor.
Business model and strategy
NEC
How it makes money
NEC makes money by selling technology projects and recurring services to governments, enterprises and telecom carriers. In FY26/3 (year ended March 31, 2026), IT Services produced ~$16.8 billion (2,508.9 billion yen), about 70% of revenue: system integration, managed services and the BluStellar DX offering in Japan, plus digital government and digital finance software abroad through subsidiaries such as Avaloq, KMD a…
Growth strategy
Under its 2025 Mid-term Management Plan, which NEC says it achieved in FY26/3, the company prioritized digital government and digital finance, 5G, and core DX (now branded BluStellar) as growth businesses while monitoring and pruning low-profit work.
Competitive advantage
NEC's edge comes from decades of trusted delivery to Japanese ministries, municipalities, the Ministry of Defense and NTT-group carriers, which makes it hard to displace on security-sensitive systems. Its face and fingerprint algorithms have repeatedly placed at or near the top of US NIST benchmark tests, which supports border-control and airport contracts abroad.
Qualcomm
How it makes money
Qualcomm earns money in two ways. QCT (Qualcomm CDMA Technologies) designs Snapdragon systems-on-chip, modems, RF front-end and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chips and sells them to handset, automotive, PC and IoT customers; manufacturing is outsourced to foundries such as TSMC and Samsung. QCT produced $38.367B of FY2025 revenue, including $27.793B from handsets, $6.617B from IoT and $3.957B from automotive.
Growth strategy
Qualcomm's growth plan is to reuse Snapdragon's low-power compute, connectivity and AI engines outside phones. Automotive is the clearest win so far, with the Snapdragon Digital Chassis growing from $2.9B in FY2024 to $3.957B in FY2025 and $1.6B in Q3 FY2026 alone. Snapdragon X chips target Windows Copilot+ laptops. Industrial IoT and robotics carry a design-win pipeline above $7B.
Competitive advantage
Qualcomm's edge comes from pairing leading cellular modem and RF engineering with one of the largest portfolios of standard-essential wireless patents. That combination lets it sell integrated Snapdragon platforms (CPU, GPU, NPU, modem and RF) while still collecting royalties on phones that use rival chips. Its custom Oryon CPU cores, from the 2021 Nuvia deal, now run in both flagship phone and Windows PC chips.
Questions about NEC vs Qualcomm
Which company has higher revenue — NEC Corporation or Qualcomm Inc.?
NEC Corporation reported ~$24B (FY2026), while Qualcomm Inc. reported $44.3B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Qualcomm Inc. is the larger business, with NEC Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of NEC Corporation vs Qualcomm Inc.?
NEC Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $40.2B, while Qualcomm Inc.'s is $208.0B. Qualcomm Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to NEC Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — NEC Corporation or Qualcomm Inc.?
NEC Corporation generates $236k / employee in revenue per employee, while Qualcomm Inc. generates $852k / employee. Qualcomm Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do NEC Corporation and Qualcomm Inc. make money?
NEC Corporation and Qualcomm Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. NEC Corporation: NEC makes money by selling technology projects and recurring services to governments, enterprises and telecom carriers. Qualcomm Inc.: Qualcomm earns money in two ways.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — NEC Corporation or Qualcomm Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, NEC Corporation trades at 1.7x P/S and Qualcomm Inc. at 4.7x P/S. Qualcomm Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to NEC Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is NEC Corporation bigger than Qualcomm Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Qualcomm Inc. ($44.3B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to NEC Corporation (~$24B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the NEC vs Qualcomm overview