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Broadcom (AVGO) Stock Climbs as AI Chip Sales More Than Double in First Quarter

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Key Takeaways

  • First quarter revenue reached $19.3 billion, representing 29% annual growth and setting a company record
  • Artificial intelligence revenue more than doubled, climbing 106% to $8.4 billion and exceeding internal projections
  • Second quarter outlook calls for $22 billion in total revenue, including $14.8 billion from AI operations
  • Morgan Stanley upgraded its price objective to $470 from $462 while maintaining an Overweight stance
  • Wall Street analysts forecast potential AI revenue reaching $120 billion by fiscal year 2027

Shares of Broadcom (AVGO) finished March 5 trading at $322.77, marking a 4.8% gain following the chipmaker’s fiscal first quarter 2026 earnings release. The stock has experienced modest declines since that session and continues trading below its year-to-date starting point.


AVGO Stock Card
Broadcom Inc., AVGO

The company delivered quarterly revenue of $19.31 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s $19.18 billion projection and establishing a new high-water mark. Earnings per share on an adjusted basis reached $2.05, topping the Street’s $2.03 estimate.

The headline figure came from artificial intelligence operations — $8.4 billion in revenue representing 106% year-over-year expansion and exceeding the company’s own internal forecasts.

Custom AI accelerator chip revenue drove much of this performance, skyrocketing 140% from the prior-year period. Revenue from AI networking products increased 60%, with management indicating that networking growth should accelerate significantly in the current quarter thanks to Tomahawk Ethernet switching technology and SerDes product lines.

Adjusted EBITDA expanded 30% annually to $13.1 billion, translating to margins of 68% relative to revenue. Gross profit margins settled at 77%, down from 79.1% in the year-ago quarter but showing sequential stability.

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Focus Shifts to Custom AI Chip Performance

Semiconductor solutions revenue climbed 52% year-over-year to $12.5 billion overall. Traditional non-AI chip revenue, by contrast, expanded just 4% — highlighting where the company’s growth engine truly resides.

Infrastructure software revenue increased modestly by 1% to $6.8 billion. Within that category, VMware-related revenue posted 13% growth.

During the earnings conference call, CEO Hock Tan pushed back against concerns that hyperscale AI developers might bypass chip partners like Broadcom by developing proprietary silicon. His counterargument was direct: “You need the best silicon design team around. You need cutting-edge SerDes, very advanced packaging. We’ve been doing this for more than 20 years. I would say we are by far way out there, and we will not see competition in customer-owned tooling for many years to come.”

CFO Kirsten Spears highlighted that the company distributed $10.9 billion to shareholders during the quarter — $3.1 billion through dividends and $7.8 billion via stock repurchases. Management also authorized an additional $10 billion buyback program extending through calendar year 2026.

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Wall Street Analyst Lifts Valuation Target

Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore increased his valuation target on AVGO to $470 from a previous $462, reaffirming an Overweight recommendation. Moore characterized the quarterly performance as “strong,” citing AI-fueled upside momentum and enhanced long-term revenue visibility.

He observed that margin worries have diminished, networking segments exceeded expectations, and the fiscal 2027 AI opportunity remains attractive as custom accelerator programs continue expanding.

For the current quarter, Broadcom projected approximately $22 billion in revenue, suggesting 47% year-over-year expansion. AI segment revenue for the second quarter is anticipated to reach $14.8 billion — reflecting 76% annual growth.

Management has communicated to the analyst community that its five primary custom AI chip clients are advancing according to plan, and that the company can generate over $100 billion in AI chip revenue during fiscal 2027 alone. Morgan Stanley’s team places that estimate even higher at approximately $120 billion, with potential for further upward adjustments.

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AVGO shares currently trade at approximately 32 times fiscal 2026 earnings projections and roughly 22.5 times the fiscal 2027 consensus estimate.

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Crypto World

Circle Stock Surges As Bernstein Sees Upside From Stablecoins

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Circle Stock Surges As Bernstein Sees Upside From Stablecoins

Circle Internet Financial is among Wall Street’s best-performing stocks so far in 2026, and analysts at Bernstein believe the rally could continue as stablecoin adoption accelerates.

In a recent note to clients, Bernstein reiterated its “Outperform” rating on CRCL stock and set a $190 price target, which typically reflects analysts’ expectations for a stock over the next 12 months.

Despite a volatile end to 2025, Circle shares appear to have decoupled from the broader cryptocurrency market, which has been under pressure since October following a major leveraged liquidation event.

Since bottoming near $50 a share in early February, the share price has more than doubled. The shares closed Tuesday at $118.17, up 5.7%, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $30.3 billion.

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Circle shares are now up about 49% year to date, outperforming a flat S&P 500 index and a roughly 1% decline in the Nasdaq 100 index over the same period.

Based on Bernstein’s price target, Circle shares still have 60% upside from current levels.

Circle (CRCL) stock. Source: Yahoo Finance

Related: Circle moves toward privacy-focused stablecoin with USDCx project

Stablecoin adoption drives bullish outlook for Circle

Bernstein’s bullish outlook for Circle is largely tied to the rapid adoption of stablecoins, particularly as businesses gain clearer rules for using digital dollars in the United States.

That clarity came with the GENIUS Act, passed in 2025, which established a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. The law set standards for reserve backing, disclosures and oversight, giving companies clearer guidelines for issuing and using dollar-pegged tokens.

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Circle stands to benefit directly from that shift. Its USDC (USDC) stablecoin is the world’s second-largest, with roughly $78 billion in circulation, accounting for about one-quarter of the global stablecoin market, according to DeFiLlama.

USDC’s total circulation. Source: DeFiLlama

Circle has also built credibility among traditional financial institutions. The company went public in 2025 and works with several major Wall Street companies.

BlackRock manages the Circle Reserve Fund that holds much of USDC’s backing assets, while BNY Mellon serves as a primary custodian for those reserves. Circle has also attracted investments from major institutions, including Fidelity and Goldman Sachs, reflecting growing interest in stablecoin infrastructure from traditional finance.

Related: Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets