Nokia Corporation vs QUALCOMM INC/DE, two Communication Equipment stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Qualcomm earns 38.3% on equity and 18.3% on assets; Nokia earns 3.1% and 1.8%, and the twenty-fold asset-return gap between two wireless-technology franchises is the pair's whole story. Licensing chip designs and collecting handset royalties simply outearns assembling carrier networks. The market inverts the ranking anyway: 99.7 times Nokia's depressed earnings against 20.2 times Qualcomm's abundant ones, recovery hope priced at five times demonstrated competence. Qualcomm returns 6.2% of its price in free cash with a 1.8% dividend besides; Nokia returns 3.2% and pays nothing. A buyer of Nokia pays up for what the margins might become; a buyer of Qualcomm is paid while doubting they need to become anything.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | NOK | QCOM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $13.00 | $188.62 |
| Market cap | $70.4B | $202.2B |
| Sector | Communication Equipment | Communication Equipment |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +28.6% |
| P/E | 99.7 | 20.2 |
| P/B | 3.08 | 7.41 |
| P/S | 3.26 | 4.55 |
| EV/EBITDA | 29.6 | 18.1 |
| Revenue growth | -2.4% | +5.5% |
| Gross margin | 43.5% | — |
| Operating margin | 4.5% | 21.8% |
| Net margin | 3.3% | 23.5% |
| Return on equity | 3.1% | 38.3% |
| Return on assets | 1.8% | 18.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 2.9% | 21.1% |
| FCF yield | 3.2% | 6.2% |
| Dividend yield | — | 1.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.56 |
| Current ratio | 1.58 | 2.37 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.21 | 5.91 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.