Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) will release earnings for the first quarter after the closing bell on Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $3.40 per share. That's down from $3.41 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Qualcomm's quarterly revenue is $12.18 billion (it reported $11.67 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse, on Monday, maintained Qualcomm with a Neutral rating and cut the price target from $185 to $160.

With the recent buzz around Qualcomm, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends too. As of now, Qualcomm has an annual dividend yield of 2.42%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of 89 cents per share ($3.56 a year).

To figure out how to earn $500 monthly from Qualcomm, we start with the yearly target of $6,000 ($500 x 12 months).

Next, we take this amount and divide it by Qualcomm's $3.56 dividend: $6,000 / $3.56 = 1,685 shares.

So, an investor would need to own approximately $247,998 worth of Qualcomm, or 1,685 shares to generate a monthly dividend income of $500.

Assuming a more conservative goal of $100 monthly ($1,200 annually), we do the same calculation: $1,200 / $3.56 = 337 shares, or $49,600 to generate a monthly dividend income of $100.

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

The dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the current stock price. As the stock price changes, the dividend yield will also change.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and its current price is $50, its dividend yield would be 4%. However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield would decrease to 3.33% ($2/$60).

Conversely, if the stock price decreases to $40, the dividend yield would increase to 5% ($2/$40).

Further, the dividend payment itself can also change over time, which can also impact the dividend yield. If a company increases its dividend payment, the dividend yield will increase even if the stock price remains the same. Similarly, if a company decreases its dividend payment, the dividend yield will decrease.

QCOM Price Action: Shares of Qualcomm fell by 3.6% to close at $147.18 on Tuesday.

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