Key Takeaways

• AI-related revenue at Broadcom more than doubled during Q1, reaching $8.4 billion thanks to strong sales of custom AI accelerators and networking solutions.
• CEO Hock Tan forecasted that AI chip revenue will surpass $100 billion annually by 2027.
• First quarter adjusted earnings per share reached $2.05, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.03; total revenue of $19.31 billion exceeded projections.
• Management issued Q2 revenue guidance of approximately $22 billion, significantly higher than the Street’s ~$20.5 billion estimate.
• A fresh $10 billion share repurchase program was unveiled, with supply commitments locked through 2028.

Shares of Broadcom advanced approximately 5% during Thursday’s session following robust first-quarter financial results and an optimistic long-term AI growth outlook presented by CEO Hock Tan.

Broadcom Inc., AVGO

The rally followed Broadcom’s report of adjusted earnings reaching $2.05 per share, narrowly beating the Wall Street consensus of $2.03. Total revenue reached $19.31 billion, marking a 29% increase from the prior year and exceeding analyst expectations of $19.18 billion.

The second-quarter outlook proved particularly impressive. Management projected revenue near $22 billion for the upcoming quarter — substantially above the analyst consensus of $20.5 billion.

Artificial intelligence revenue emerged as the standout metric. The segment more than doubled during the period to reach $8.4 billion, propelled by robust demand for customized AI accelerators and networking hardware.

According to Tan, the customer base has expanded beyond established hyperscale cloud providers. Organizations developing AI agents, automated code generation platforms, and consumer-facing AI applications are increasingly adopting Broadcom’s specialized chip solutions.

The company’s AI semiconductor partnerships include major technology giants such as Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

During the analyst call, Tan expressed confidence that the company has clear “line of sight” to annual AI chip revenue surpassing $100 billion by 2027 — a projection that exceeded even the most bullish Street forecasts.

JPMorgan analysts project the company could generate between $12 billion and $15 billion for each gigawatt of AI infrastructure capacity by 2027. Their revised AI revenue projections “conservatively” reach $120 billion or higher.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs highlighted that Broadcom’s “leadership in AI networking and custom silicon enables the lowest inference cost for its hyperscaler customers.”

Supply Agreements and Profitability

Investor concerns about high-bandwidth memory constraints were prominent heading into earnings. Tan directly addressed these worries, confirming that Broadcom has locked in memory supply and advanced semiconductor wafer capacity extending through 2028.

He also dismissed profitability concerns related to increased AI chip rack shipments. According to Tan, the company has optimized production yields and costs to the point where AI business margins are “fairly consistent” with its broader semiconductor portfolio.

The company is approaching 10 gigawatts of deployed capacity distributed across six major customers — a diversification metric that helped alleviate investor worries about customer concentration.

Capital Returns and Street Sentiment

Complementing the earnings report, Broadcom unveiled a new $10 billion stock repurchase authorization, signaling management confidence in the business trajectory.

Wall Street currently rates the stock as a consensus Strong Buy based on input from 30 analysts — comprising 28 Buy ratings and 2 Hold ratings — with a mean price target of $449.46.

Broadcom’s impressive performance created positive ripple effects across related semiconductor names. Credo Technology shares surged 10% while Amphenol climbed 4%, reflecting investor enthusiasm for copper-based connectivity solutions over optical alternatives in AI server architectures.

Tan indicated that AI chip revenue for the current quarter should reach $10.7 billion, signaling continued growth momentum.

Revolut has applied for a US banking licence to deepen its presence in the market.

Revolut, one of Europe’s largest fintechs with a valuation reported around $75b, has applied to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a banking licence.

If approved, the charter would give the company direct access to core payment rails including Fedwire and ACH, allowing it to offer a broader array of services such as credit cards, personal loans and expanded deposit products. Until now, Revolut has operated in the US via partnerships and a more limited permissions set, which constrained the speed and scope of its product rollout compared with its European footprint.

The application underscores how intensely the firm views the US as a key strategic market, even as competition from incumbents and other neobanks remains fierce. A banking licence would not only improve Revolut’s economics by reducing reliance on third-party intermediaries, it would also give regulators clearer oversight of its balance sheet, risk management and compliance programs. For users, the result could be a tighter integration of fiat, card, savings and crypto functionality—areas where Revolut has sought to differentiate itself by offering exposure to assets like BTC alongside more traditional services.

Fintech, crypto and regulatory convergence

Revolut’s move comes as the boundaries between fintech, traditional banking and crypto services continue to blur. Many digital-first institutions already provide some combination of crypto trading, stablecoin access and on-chain transfers, often in partnership with exchanges such as Coinbase or through their own limited offerings. Securing a full banking licence would position Revolut to more deeply embed these services within a regulated framework, potentially easing concerns for both users and policymakers about the safety and soundness of hybrid platforms.

For US regulators, granting or denying the application will send an important signal about how open the system is to globally active, crypto-friendly fintechs seeking full bank status. The decision will likely take into account not only Revolut’s financial strength and compliance track record, but also broader debates about innovation, competition and consumer protection. As regulatory regimes like MiCA shape expectations in Europe, a US banking licence could help Revolut harmonize its oversight environment across major markets, giving it a stronger base from which to compete with both incumbent banks and emerging digital challengers.

A Coinbase shareholder filed a derivative lawsuit against several of the crypto exchange’s top executives and board members, alleging they failed in oversight of compliance and disclosures, exposing the company to legal and regulatory fallout.

The complaint was filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey and was brought by shareholder Kevin Meehan on behalf of Coinbase Global. It cites CEO Brian Armstrong, co-founder Fred Ehrsam, and several current and former directors and senior executives, including chief legal officer Paul Grewal and chief financial officer Alesia Haas.

According to the filing, the defendants allegedly made false or misleading statements between April 2021, when Coinbase went public through a direct listing, and June 2023. The plaintiff argues that these oversight failures ultimately exposed Coinbase to regulatory enforcement actions.

In early 2023, Coinbase reached a $100 million settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) over deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program. In another instance, the company was hit with a $5 million penalty from New Jersey’s Bureau of Securities related to the listing of unregistered securities.

Related: Trump met Coinbase CEO before slamming banks over crypto bill: Report

Shareholder suit seeks damages, insider profit clawbacks

The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of Coinbase, along with corporate governance reforms and the clawback of compensation and profits allegedly earned by insiders while the company’s compliance issues persisted.

Because the case is structured as a shareholder derivative action, any financial recovery would go to Coinbase rather than directly to shareholders.

The complaint also calls for a jury trial and accuses the defendants of unjust enrichment, abuse of control and breaches of fiduciary duty tied to what it describes as systemic compliance failures.

Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment, but had not received a response by publication.

Related: Coinbase opens stock and ETF trading to all US users in multi-asset push

Coinbase faces more lawsuits

In January, a Delaware judge allowed a shareholder lawsuit alleging several Coinbase directors conducted insider trading to move forward, despite an internal investigation that cleared the executives. The case claims that insiders, including Armstrong and board member Marc Andreessen, used nonpublic information to avoid more than $1 billion in losses by selling shares around Coinbase’s 2021 direct listing.