Broadcom Stock Today (Nov. 20, 2025): AVGO Rallies on AI Launch, Nvidia Results and Fidelity Lawsuit

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is back in the spotlight on Thursday, November 20, 2025, as the stock extends a sharp rebound driven by powerful AI infrastructure news, Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings, and rising legal drama around VMware.

On Wednesday, AVGO jumped about 4.1% to close near $354, with trading volume above 21 million shares. ^[1] Pre‑market quotes early Thursday showed another ~3% gain, pushing the share price into the mid‑$360s and leaving the stock up roughly 45–50% year‑to‑date. ^[2]

Below is a breakdown of what’s moving Broadcom stock today, and what investors are watching next.

Key takeaways for AVGO on November 20, 2025

Stock momentum: AVGO is extending Wednesday’s ~4% surge with additional pre‑market gains of about 3% on Thursday, riding a broader AI‑chip rally and strong technical support after a recent pullback. ^[3]
New AI infrastructure products: Broadcom has launched the industry’s first 128G Fibre Channel platforms – the Brocade X8 Directors and G820 56‑port switch – with quantum‑resistant encryption and embedded SAN AI, triggering fresh optimism about its data‑center roadmap. ^[4]
Macro tailwind: Nvidia’s blowout Q3 results and upbeat AI guidance have re‑ignited confidence in the AI trade, lifting chip stocks including Broadcom in pre‑market trading. ^[5]
Legal overhang: A new lawsuit from Fidelity over VMware software access, plus earlier complaints from European cloud providers, is sharpening focus on Broadcom’s aggressive VMware licensing strategy and regulatory risk. ^[6]
Street view: Wall Street remains broadly positive: recent data show 19 “buy”‑type ratings and a median price target near $400, implying moderate upside from current levels, though concerns about valuation and an AI “bubble” persist. ^[7]

Broadcom stock today: price action and technical backdrop

After a choppy start to November, Broadcom shares have snapped back hard over the last two sessions:

Nov. 19 close: AVGO finished Wednesday at $354.42, up 4.09% on the day, with more than 21.8 million shareschanging hands. ^[8]
Pre‑market Nov. 20: By early Thursday morning in New York, pre‑market quotes on major platforms showed AVGO trading around $365, roughly 3% above Wednesday’s close. ^[9]

From a technical perspective, recent research highlighted that Broadcom had pulled back from its October 29 record high around $386.48 and was testing support near its 80‑day moving average, with its 14‑day RSI dipping into oversold territory. ^[10] Historical data cited in that note suggested that similar setups have often led to strong one‑month rebounds, helping explain why short‑term traders were quick to buy the recent dip.

Year to date, AVGO is now up around 47% in 2025, according to multiple data providers, cementing its status as one of the standout large‑cap AI infrastructure plays. ^[11]

AI catalyst #1: 128G Fibre Channel launch with quantum‑safe security

One of the biggest immediate drivers behind Broadcom’s move is the commercial launch of its new Gen 8 Fibre Channel portfolio, aimed squarely at AI and other mission‑critical data‑center workloads.

Several outlets today highlight the key elements of the launch: ^[12]

New products:
- Brocade X8 Directors – modular director‑class switches that can scale up to 384 ports at 128G.
- Brocade G820 56‑port switch – a 1U fixed‑form‑factor switch with 56 × 128G SFP+ ports.
Performance & security:
- First 128G Fibre Channel platforms in the market, built for high‑throughput AI training, large storage fabrics and other latency‑sensitive workloads.
- Quantum‑safe 256‑bit encryption and post‑quantum cryptography intended to protect data as future quantum computers threaten today’s encryption standards.
Embedded SAN AI:
- The platforms integrate SAN‑embedded AI features like SAN Fabric Intelligence and Adaptive Traffic Optimizer to monitor, tune and balance traffic automatically across the storage network.
Ecosystem support:
- OEM partners including Dell, HPE, IBM, Lenovo, NetApp and others have lined up to ship systems built around the new hardware over coming quarters.

Coverage from CoinCentral and AInvest emphasizes that this launch positions Broadcom to dominate AI‑era storage networking, tying its traditional strength in enterprise storage to the current boom in GPU‑heavy AI clusters. ^[13]

Simply Wall St notes that the Fibre Channel launch is part of a broader AI infrastructure narrative, where Broadcom is trying to lock in long‑term data‑center share even as it leans more heavily into software and recurring revenue streams. ^[14]

AI catalyst #2: NEC and VMware Cloud Foundation partnership

Alongside the Gen 8 hardware, Broadcom has also expanded its partnership with NEC to promote private‑cloud solutions based on VMware Cloud Foundation. ^[15]

According to today’s analysis:

NEC and Broadcom will work together to help enterprises deploy VMware Cloud Foundation‑based private clouds, combining Broadcom’s VMware stack with NEC’s integration and services capabilities.
The ambition is to boost software‑driven recurring revenue, complementing Broadcom’s highly cyclical chip business and creating a more integrated hardware‑plus‑software story.
However, Simply Wall St stresses that customer concentration risk remains high, with Broadcom still heavily dependent on a small number of hyperscale AI customers for much of its semiconductor growth. ^[16]

For investors, this partnership underscores the strategic importance of VMware inside Broadcom – and explains why legal disputes around VMware licensing (like the Fidelity lawsuit) matter for the stock.

AI catalyst #3: Nvidia’s blowout quarter lifts the whole sector

Another reason AVGO is in demand today has nothing to do with Broadcom’s own earnings calendar and everything to do with Nvidia.

A fresh Reuters report this morning notes that U.S. stock futures jumped after Nvidia smashed expectations and guided higher again, easing worries that the AI trade had turned into a bubble. ^[17] Nvidia’s pre‑market surge spilled over into other chip names:

Reuters specifically calls out Broadcom and Marvell as among the chip‑related stocks posting strong gains in pre‑market trading. ^[18]
TipRanks similarly reports that AVGO is up nearly 3% pre‑market today after gaining about 4% yesterday, with the rally explicitly linked to Nvidia’s results and Broadcom’s product launch. ^[19]

Because Broadcom designs custom AI accelerators and advanced networking chips used in the same hyperscale data centers that rely on Nvidia GPUs, its stock often trades as a high‑beta proxy on AI infrastructure demand. Nvidia’s strong Q3 and guidance effectively re‑validated the AI capex cycle, at least for now, and Broadcom is benefiting from that sentiment reset.

AI catalyst #4: Multi‑billion‑dollar AI custom‑chip pipeline

Beyond this week’s headlines, the underlying AI pipeline remains central to how investors value Broadcom.

On its September earnings call, Broadcom guided for Q4 FY2025 revenue of about $17.4 billion, ahead of Wall Street estimates, and said AI‑related semiconductor revenue was expected to climb from $5.2 billion in Q3 to roughly $6.2 billion in Q4, a 63% year‑over‑year jump. ^[20]
Reuters reported that Broadcom has already secured more than $10 billion in AI infrastructure orders from a new customer for fiscal 2026 and expects AI revenue growth to “improve significantly” next year. ^[21]

Follow‑up analysis from Investopedia and Smartkarma notes that multiple reports point to OpenAI as the likely new mega‑customer, with Broadcom said to be developing a custom AI chip for the ChatGPT maker. ^[22]

Smartkarma also highlights that analysts remain bullish on Broadcom’s AI trajectory, citing: ^[23]

A multi‑year OpenAI accelerator deal running from 2026 through 2029.
Strong Q3 2025 revenue growth driven by AI semiconductors and VMware expansion.
A “Smart Score” that scores high on momentum and growth, even if pure value metrics look stretched.

Taken together, the market is increasingly treating AVGO as an AI infrastructure pure‑play, even though it still has substantial non‑AI and software businesses.

Legal and regulatory overhang: Fidelity and VMware licensing backlash

Balancing the bullish AI story is a mounting legal and regulatory overhang around VMware, which is front‑and‑center for investors this week.

Fidelity lawsuit over VMware software access

On November 17, a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments filed a lawsuit accusing Broadcom of threatening to cut off access to business‑critical VMware virtualization software that underpins trading and account systems used by roughly 50 million customers. ^[24]

Key allegations from the complaint:

Broadcom allegedly told Fidelity that access to certain VMware tools would end after January 21, unless the firm migrated to new, more expensive software bundles.
Fidelity argues it needs 18–24 months to re‑platform its infrastructure safely and warns that losing access sooner could trigger “massive outages”, blocked account access and major trading disruptions. ^[25]
The asset manager claims Broadcom is breaching existing contracts that pre‑date Broadcom’s 2023 acquisition of VMware.

Broadcom has not commented publicly on the specifics of the case, but market commentary today notes that this dispute adds to investor unease about the risks of Broadcom’s aggressive VMware strategy. ^[26]

Wider VMware backlash in Europe and beyond

The Fidelity suit comes on top of a growing list of VMware‑related complaints:

A European cloud watchdog, the European Cloud Competition Observatory (ECCO), has accused Broadcom of forcing VMware customers into price hikes ranging from 800% to 1,500%, calling the company’s behavior “Red – Critical” for Europe’s cloud ecosystem. ^[27]
The Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) has filed a legal challenge in the EU’s General Court against the European Commission’s earlier approval of Broadcom’s $69 billion VMware deal, warning of unfair licensing practices that could affect “nearly all European cloud users.” ^[28]
U.K. retailer Tesco has also sued Broadcom, claiming that the termination of its perpetual VMware licenses and forced migration to subscription bundles amounts to a contract breach and could disrupt critical retail systems running across 40,000 server workloads. ^[29]

For AVGO shareholders, these cases represent more than headline risk. They raise questions about:

Reputational damage if VMware is increasingly seen as an unavoidable “tax” on virtualization. ^[30]
Potential regulatory remedies, fines, or forced changes to Broadcom’s licensing model.
The long‑term sustainability of VMware‑driven software margins if customers or regulators push back harder.

That said, Broadcom still argues that its subscription‑first model offers better value over time and has pointed to high adoption rates among top VMware customers. ^[31]

Street sentiment: bullish but debating valuation and AI bubble risk

Despite the legal noise and periodic pullbacks, Wall Street’s formal view on Broadcom remains broadly positive:

Data compiled by Quiver Quantitative show 19 recent “buy” or equivalent ratings and no “sell” calls on AVGO. ^[32]
Among 23 analysts issuing price targets over the last six months, the median target is about $400 per share, with recent targets ranging from around $400 to $450 by firms such as Mizuho, Barclays, UBS and others. ^[33]
Simply Wall St’s long‑term modeling projects Broadcom’s revenue reaching about $119.6 billion and earnings roughly $50.8 billion by 2028, implying a 25.9% annual revenue growth rate and an intrinsic value estimate near $395 per share, roughly 11% above recent prices. ^[34]

At the same time, several sources flag that AVGO may already be trading above some fair‑value estimates, with at least one widely used valuation model suggesting the stock is roughly 10–15% overvalued at current levels. ^[35]

QuiverQuant also highlights that insiders have been net sellers in recent months, while institutional and even congressional investors have been significant buyers – underscoring the divide between those running the company and those betting on it. ^[36]

And even after Nvidia’s reassuring quarter, commentators continue to warn about AI‑bubble and sector‑rotation risk: sharp pullbacks earlier this month showed how quickly investors can dump richly valued AI names, including Broadcom, when sentiment turns. TechStock²

What to watch next for Broadcom

Looking beyond today’s price action, several upcoming catalysts will likely shape where AVGO trades from here:

Q4 FY2025 earnings – December 11, 2025
- Broadcom will report after the close on Thursday, December 11, with a conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET. ^[37]
- Investors will be watching whether the company can hit or beat its $17.4 billion revenue guidance and deliver roughly $6.2 billion in AI semiconductor revenue as promised. ^[38]
Traction for Gen 8 Fibre Channel and AI networking
- OEM announcements, early customer wins and incremental commentary on the 128G Brocade Gen 8 SANand related AI networking products will be key signals for the durability of Broadcom’s data‑center edge. ^[39]
Updates on VMware legal cases
- Any developments in the Fidelity lawsuit, the European CISPE challenge, and similar disputes (like Tesco’s case) could reshape expectations around VMware growth and margin profiles. ^[40]
Nvidia and AI‑spending cycle
- Future Nvidia reports and hyperscaler commentary will continue to act as a real‑time barometer of AI infrastructure spending, which directly feeds into Broadcom’s custom chips and networking demand. ^[41]
Interest‑rate and macro backdrop
- With AVGO trading at premium multiples backed by rapid growth expectations, any rise in bond yields or risk‑off shift in markets can hit high‑growth, high‑multiple tech stocks first, including Broadcom. TechStock²+1

Bottom line: AVGO is trading like an AI infrastructure barometer

Today’s action in Broadcom stock is less about a single headline and more about reinforcement:

New quantum‑safe Gen 8 SAN hardware confirms Broadcom’s ambition to dominate AI‑era storage networks. ^[42]
Expanded NEC and VMware Cloud Foundation ties show that its software strategy is gaining traction with some large customers – even as others, like Fidelity and Tesco, push back via the courts. ^[43]
Nvidia’s blowout earnings and ongoing AI‑chip demand have re‑energized the broader AI trade, pulling AVGO higher as one of the sector’s core infrastructure names. ^[44]

At the same time, the stock’s strong year‑to‑date run, valuation debates, and intensifying VMware disputes mean that AVGO is not without significant risk. For many investors, the key question is whether Broadcom’s AI and software engines can deliver enough growth – for long enough – to justify those risks and today’s elevated multiples.

Important: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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