The semiconductor industry is expected to rebound from its current supply shortage with increasing production. And large-scale federal and private investments to support the industry together with unprecedented chip demand worldwide should benefit key players NVIDIA (NVDA) and QUALCOMM (QCOM) significantly. But which of these stocks is a better buy now? Read more to find out.Santa Clara, Calif.-based NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a visual computing company worldwide. It operates in two segments: Graphics and Compute & Networking. In comparison , QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) in San Diego, Calif., develops and commercializes foundational technologies and products used in mobile devices and other wireless products. It operates through three segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT); Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL); and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI).
The semiconductor shortage is now a global concern, creating production bottlenecks in several industries. However, with federal investments and initiatives by the industry giants, the industry is expected to rebound soon. According to an International Data Corporation (IDC)’s report, dedicated semiconductor foundries have been selected for the rest of the year, with capacity utilization at nearly 100%, which should boost production. In addition, 5G semiconductor revenues are expected to increase by 128% year-over-year, while total mobile phone semiconductors are expected to grow by 28.5%. Both NVDA and QCOM are well-known names in the industry and are expected to gain substantially from the industry’s growth.
NVDA’s shares have gained 74.7% in price over the past six months, while QCOM has returned 5.3% over this period. Also, NVDA’s 69.1% gains year-to-date compare with QCOM’s 12.1% decline/. In terms of their past year’s performance, NVDA is the winner with 78.8% gains versus QCOM’s 19.3%.