InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) Stock Price & How to Invest

InterDigital is a wireless and video technology research and patent licensing company. The company develops fundamental technology used in cellular standards (5G, 6G, prior generations), video coding standards (HEVC, VVC), and other communications and media technologies. The company contributes patents to standard-setting organizations and earns recurring licensing revenue from device manufacturers (smartphone OEMs, consumer electronics manufacturers) that implement those standards.

InterDigital's business model is small in operating headcount (the company is essentially a research lab with a licensing arm) but high in profitability because licensing revenue carries very high incremental margins. Major licensees include Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Huawei, and others. The company has had periodic high-profile licensing disputes (with Huawei and Xiaomi historically; with Lenovo and Disney more recently in video) that have ultimately resulted in renewed licensing agreements. Founded in 1972, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Liren Chen has been CEO since 2021.

2026 has shown both sides of the licensing model. Second-quarter revenue jumped to about $260 million and net income to about $116 million, with EPS of $4.62 against a consensus near $1.52, and annualized recurring revenue reached a record of about $626 million, up 13% year over year. A license agreement with Amazon extended InterDigital's reach into streaming and cloud services. Management raised 2026 guidance to revenue of $775 million to $845 million (from $675 million to $775 million) and non-GAAP EPS of $10.85 to $12.81, and in September lifted the quarterly dividend 7.1% to $0.75. Trailing twelve-month revenue is about $789 million and net income about $302 million. The stock closed at $321.91 on October 16, 2026, down about 1.3% year to date and 12.4% over twelve months but up about 22% over three months, inside a 52-week range of roughly $249 to $413.

Licensing disputes can suspend royalty receipts during periods of litigation. Court decisions on FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms affect royalty rates. Concentration of licensing revenue among a small number of major handset OEMs creates revenue concentration risk. Results are lumpy by design: second-quarter 2026 EPS of $4.62 was roughly triple the estimate, yet analysts expect third-quarter revenue near $157 million and EPS near $2.00, and 2027 consensus revenue of about $754 million is below the 2026 forecast. After the re-rating, the stock trades near 38 times trailing and 29 times forward earnings, so a slower pace of new license signings would leave less valuation cushion than in early 2026.

3 analysts publish price targets on IDCC, averaging $462.67 against a $319.30 price as of October 2026, or +44.9%. The published targets run from $425.00 to $488.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 4 buy, 0 hold, 0 sell. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full IDCC forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on InterDigital, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. 5G licensing scale-up. 5G handset adoption has driven InterDigital's licensing revenue meaningfully higher. The most optimistic published target, $488.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Licensing disputes can suspend royalty receipts during periods of litigation. The most pessimistic target, $425.00, is roughly what IDCC is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on IDCC, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see InterDigital, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$789 million
• 2026 revenue guidance: ~$775-845 million (raised from ~$675-775 million)
• Annualized recurring revenue: ~$626 million (Q2 2026, +13% y/y)
• Operating margin: ~54% (licensing model)
• Net income (TTM): ~$302 million
• EPS (TTM): ~$8.56 GAAP
• P/E: ~38x trailing, ~29x forward
• Dividend yield: ~0.9% ($3.00 annualized)
• Free cash flow (TTM): ~$601 million

InterDigital's valuation reflects the high-margin licensing business model and a re-rating in 2026: the trailing P/E is near 38 and the forward multiple about 29 at the October 16 price, against roughly 15x in early 2026. Earnings stay lumpy because licensing settlements land in single quarters, as the $4.62 second-quarter EPS against a $1.52 estimate showed, while multi-year contracted licensing provides smoother underlying economics. Price-to-free-cash-flow, near 14 on trailing figures, may be more useful than trailing P/E.

If you want IDCC exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

These are the investment theses IDCC naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.

Other names that sit close to IDCC: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get IDCC exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (IWO, DFAS), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so IDCC sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where IDCC fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

InterDigital (IDCC) is a high-margin, asset-light patent-licensing business whose royalties scale with 5G and video adoption but arrive lumpily through FRAND settlements and disputes. In a portfolio it behaves as a niche, cash-generative mid-cap with a growing dividend and buybacks, distinct from typical operating companies and best measured on cash flow rather than trailing earnings. A record second quarter in 2026 led management to raise full-year revenue guidance to $775 million to $845 million, while analysts expect a much quieter third quarter when results arrive on October 29.

Whether IDCC is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is IDCC a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the IDCC stock forecast.

For income investors, whether IDCC pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does IDCC pay a dividend? And to weigh IDCC against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: IDCC vs LMT and IDCC vs RTX.