Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO | AVGO Price Prediction) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) both just delivered post-earnings updates that reset expectations for custom AI silicon and networking.
Broadcom posted a record $22.2 billion quarter powered by hyperscaler XPU deals. Marvell answered with $2.418 billion in revenue and a sharply raised outlook. Same end market, very different scale.
Hyperscaler Deals Carry Broadcom. Optics Carry Marvell. #
Broadcom’s semiconductor segment reached $15 billion, with AI silicon alone at $10.8 billion, up 143% year on year. Hock Tan said “Demand for XPUs and networking is simply insatiable”, pointing to bookings that exceeded $30 billion in the quarter.
The customer roster now includes multi-generation TPU work with Google, a 1.3 gigawatt deployment tied to OpenAI, and a Meta MTIA program targeting 3 gigawatts through the end of 2028. All of that gigawatt scale has to be powered and cooled by somebody, and we rounded up seven suppliers behind the buildout in a free AI infrastructure report.
Marvell’s story is narrower but sharper. Data center revenue hit $1.83 billion, or 76% of total revenue. Matt Murphy said “Our data center business is on fire”, and lifted fiscal 2028 revenue to roughly $16.5 billion.
The push is optical: 800G and 1.6T interconnects, 51.2T Ethernet switching, and the Celestial AI photonic fabric that a Tier 1 hyperscaler already selected for scale-up XPU networks.
Scale vs. Speed: Two Very Different Bets #
Lens | Broadcom | Marvell | | Market cap | $1.72T | $194B | | Next quarter AI/DC growth | AI revenue up over 200% YoY to $16B | Data center up mid-40% YoY | | Forward P/E | 20 | 58 | | Core bet | Custom XPUs plus VMware software | Optical interconnect and custom silicon |
Broadcom leans on diversification. VMware added $7.2 billion at a 93% gross margin, and free cash flow reached $10.3 billion.
Marvell is spending to build the future: roughly $1 billion in supplier prepayments this year, plus the Celestial AI, XConn and Polariton deals. Higher risk, higher slope.
What Decides the Next Two Quarters #
Broadcom’s Q3 earnings report lands Wednesday, September 2, 2026, and visibility already runs all the way to 2028. The AVGO share price is a wrinkle: shares closed at $362.48, down 12.88% in a week, while sentiment sits at a neutral 42.98.
For Marvell, at $237.27 and up 179.61% year to date, the test is execution on the new Tier 1 XPU program and the path to over $10 billion in fiscal 2029 custom revenue.
Durable Cash Flow vs. Maximum AI Torque #
On the fundamentals, Broadcom screens as the more durable of the two. The mix of VMware cash flow, a $2.54 dividend, and locked-in gigawatt commitments frames the recent pullback as a re-rating. Analysts still carry a target of $527.88, which frames the upside case.
If you want maximum torque to AI networking, Marvell is the sharper instrument. Growth is accelerating, but a 57 forward P/E, 2.246 beta, and a bearish sentiment score of 34 mean any hyperscaler order slip would sting. The setup argues for a smaller position and continued volatility. Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.