Broadcom’s stock climbed 13% in extended trading after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and highlighted a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) revenue, which more than tripled over the past year.
For the quarter ending November 3, Broadcom’s results exceeded analyst expectations:
- Earnings per share (adjusted): $1.42 (vs. $1.38 expected)
- Revenue: $14.05 billion (vs. $14.09 billion expected)
Broadcom projected first-quarter revenue of approximately $14.6 billion, slightly above the average analyst estimate of $14.57 billion. The company recorded a 51% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $14.05 billion, up from $9.3 billion.
AI Revenue Drives Growth
Broadcom’s semiconductor solutions division, which includes AI chips, saw revenue increase 12% to $8.23 billion compared to $8.03 billion a year ago. For the full year, AI revenue skyrocketed 220% to $12.2 billion, driven by generative AI infrastructure demands, including ethernet networking components that interconnect thousands of AI chips.
CEO Hock Tan emphasized the transformative potential of Broadcom’s AI technology on the company’s earnings call, stating, “We see an opportunity over the next three years in AI.” Tan revealed that Broadcom is collaborating with three major cloud providers to develop custom AI chips. Each customer is expected to deploy approximately 1 million AI chips within networked clusters by 2027.
Broadcom estimates that its AI chip market, including its proprietary XPUs and networking components, could generate between $60 billion and $90 billion in revenue by 2027.
Infrastructure Software Division Boost
Revenue in Broadcom’s infrastructure software division nearly tripled, reaching $5.82 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $1.96 billion a year ago. This surge was bolstered by the recent $69 billion acquisition of VMware, which was finalized after the previous year’s reporting period.
Dividend Increase for Fiscal 2025
Broadcom announced an 11% increase in its quarterly dividend for fiscal year 2025, raising it to 59 cents per share.
As the demand for AI infrastructure and custom solutions continues to grow, Broadcom is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend, particularly with its strategic collaborations and expanded market opportunities.