New York, Jan 27, 2026, 16:31 (EST) — After-hours
Broadcom shares climbed 2.44% on Tuesday, ending the day at $332.79 after fluctuating between $327.02 and $334.75, with volume surpassing 23 million shares, according to market data. Since Friday’s close, the stock has rallied nearly 4%, clawing back some of its losses from earlier this year. 1
This shift is significant since Broadcom is often seen as a shortcut to gauging spending on AI infrastructure—chips, networking gear, and the custom silicon powering major cloud data centers. When rates or earnings falter, this sector usually takes a hit too, often more pronounced.
Wall Street edged higher overall, with the S&P 500 closing at a new record and the Nasdaq extending its winning streak to three sessions. Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, and Broadcom stood out as top contributors, Reuters reported. “There’s a little bit of a bifurcated market today,” said Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic Wealth, as investors braced for Wednesday’s Federal Reserve announcement and a heavy slate of megacap earnings. 2
The AI story could take a sharp turn during this earnings season. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet plan to boost AI spending by 30%, pushing total investment beyond $500 billion this year, Reuters reported. But the payoff is under the microscope. “Like in the internet boom, the first-mover advantage doesn’t always win the marathon,” said David Wagner, head of equities at Aptus Capital Advisors. 3
Broadcom’s shares rose amid news that cloud giants continue to ramp up their own chip development. On Monday, Microsoft revealed its second-generation AI chip, Maia 200, together with software aimed at closing Nvidia’s lead among developers, Reuters reported. The rollout is set to start this week in data centers located in Iowa and Arizona. 4
Microsoft revealed that Maia 200 leverages TSMC’s 3-nanometer process, combining 216GB of high-bandwidth memory—the kind favored in AI accelerators—with on-chip SRAM, a fast memory variant. The system employs a two-tier network architecture “built on standard Ethernet,” according to the company. Executive Scott Guthrie highlighted that the chip targets better “economics of AI token generation,” referring to the costs involved in producing AI outputs. 5
Broadcom has taught the market to expect a “but” paragraph. Back in December, it cautioned that a rising share of lower-margin custom AI chips was weighing on profits, despite highlighting a $73 billion backlog set to ship over the next 18 months, Reuters reported. 6
The dynamic is well-known: cloud clients continue to invest, yet they constantly tweak their purchases — opting for more in-house chips, tweaking network setups, and zeroing in on cost per inference request. Broadcom is positioned close enough to this spending to gain, but also close enough to the changing mix to face margin pressure.
The risk from here is straightforward. If the Fed turns more hawkish or the top AI spenders issue disappointing guidance, the entire sector could take a sharp hit — and Broadcom rarely escapes unscathed when debates over “return on AI” heat up among investors.
Mark your calendars for the Fed statement dropping at 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 28, with the chair’s news conference to follow at 2:30 p.m. EST, per the central bank’s schedule. Also on investors’ radar: Broadcom’s upcoming earnings report, set for March 5. 7
