New York, April 22, 2026, 14:04 EDT
- Broadcom shares jumped over 4% during the session, hovering around $420—just shy of an all-time high.
- Google’s unveiling of its TPU 8t and TPU 8i chips throws Broadcom’s position in custom AI silicon back into the spotlight.
- Some bulls highlight climbing earnings forecasts and a steady stream of AI orders. Skeptics, though, focus on stretched valuations and ongoing margin pressure.
Broadcom shares climbed Wednesday, approaching all-time highs after Google’s newest AI chip hit the market—reinforcing the sense that AVGO sits squarely at the center of custom AI hardware supply. Shares last changed hands at $419.62, up 4.3%. They had earlier reached $420.04.
The timing is notable as investors start zeroing in on which firms will actually convert this wave of hyperscale AI spending into hardware, components, and real returns. Google rolled out its eighth-generation Tensor Processing Units on Wednesday—custom AI chips, split into two variants: TPU 8t for training models, and TPU 8i for inference, meaning the phase where those models spit out results.
Broadcom’s role isn’t just suggested—it’s spelled out in a filing. On April 6, the company disclosed in a Form 8-K that it struck a long-term deal with Google to co-develop and supply custom TPUs for future product cycles. The agreement also locks in Broadcom as a supplier of networking and other gear for Google’s next-gen AI racks, potentially running through 2031. There’s more: starting in 2027, Anthropic gets access to roughly 3.5 gigawatts of Broadcom-powered, next-gen TPU-based AI compute, assuming Anthropic keeps delivering commercially.
On Wednesday, the partnership widened once more. Broadcom announced that Google Cloud rolled out Cloud Network Insights, a native network observability offering powered by AppNeta by Broadcom, aimed at helping firms detect issues across hybrid setups, multi-cloud, and workloads involving AI agents. “Observability has never been more crucial,” said Rob Enns, Google Cloud’s VP and general manager of cloud networking. Broadcom Inc.
Bullish sentiment was already swirling around the stock. Zacks Equity Research just tapped Broadcom as its “Bull of the Day,” highlighting a Zacks Rank #1, recent upward earnings revisions, and shares trading just under their all-time highs. Sales are on track to jump more than 60% this year and close to 50% the next, according to Zacks. Earnings? They’re looking for a 68% surge this year, followed by 55% growth next year. TradingView
Bulls have found more than just technicals to hang their hats on. In March, Broadcom posted fiscal Q1 revenue of $19.31 billion—a 29% jump from the prior year. AI revenue came in at $8.4 billion, surging 106%. “Our AI revenue growth is accelerating,” CEO Hock Tan told investors. He projected AI semiconductor revenue would reach $10.7 billion in the second quarter. Broadcom Inc.
Google’s latest chip announcement sharpens that outlook. “Power, not just chip supply, is a binding constraint,” wrote Amin Vahdat, the company’s senior VP and chief technologist for AI and infrastructure. According to Google, the TPU 8t achieves almost triple the compute power of earlier models, and the TPU 8i delivers 80% better inference performance per dollar than its predecessor. blog.google
The competitive landscape sends a mixed signal. Nvidia is still the top general-purpose AI GPU provider, holding onto its lead. Google, for its part, announced plans to roll out A5X bare-metal instances with Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform once those are ready. But there’s more: Reuters reported this week that Google has also been discussing two new AI chips with Marvell, one designed for more efficient model inference—a move that underlines how major cloud players continue pushing to broaden their supplier options. Google Cloud
Valuation and execution are the sticking points here. Broadcom was trading at about $2.04 trillion on Wednesday, with a price-to-earnings ratio north of 100, market data show. This week, GuruFocus flagged that the company’s AI-driven surge is papering over margin pressure—and the real challenge is whether management can keep squeezing out high returns as it pours more cash into AI and software.
Any dip in AI capex, slippage in TPU orders, or a surge from competitors like Marvell—all could flip the script fast. Broadcom’s filing also notes the Anthropic capacity is tied to Anthropic’s own business wins, underlining just how much these big-ticket infrastructure bets still depend on real-world rollouts, top-line gains, and actual free cash flow.
Earnings mark the next big test for Broadcom. According to Benzinga, analysts are looking for the company to report on June 4, with revenue pegged at roughly $22.04 billion and EPS seen at $2.24. The stock holds a Buy consensus, with the average price target coming in at $470.96. At that point, investors will get clarity: was Wednesday’s jump just a classic AI-fueled squeeze, or is the market betting Broadcom’s run has further to go?
