NEW YORK, June 3, 2026, 08:05 EDT
- Broadcom is set to report after the bell, and investors get their first look at the chipmaker after its stock surged for four straight sessions, adding over $280 billion in value.
- Alphabet’s $80 billion equity raise plan is putting a spotlight on AI data-center suppliers like Broadcom.
- The risk is basic. Expectations have outrun actual earnings.
Broadcom heads into Wednesday’s earnings after shares ran higher for four days. Traders have piled into custom AI chips and data-center networking plays, boosted this week by Alphabet’s $80 billion stock sale plan and a record move in Marvell Technology. Broadcom is due to post its fiscal Q2 numbers after the close, with a results call set for 5:00 p.m. ET, the company said.
Timing is in play. Investors are shifting values for the companies making the hardware behind artificial intelligence: custom processors, optical connections, and switching chips that shuttle data through big server centers. Broadcom is part of that supply chain, tied to Google’s tensor processing units—custom AI chips built by Google together with external chipmakers.
The stock finished at a record $481.57 Tuesday, jumping 4.7% on the day and up 14% over four sessions, according to Barron’s. Bloomberg said the surge added over $280 billion in market cap, with the next test on guidance instead of sentiment.
Alphabet gave the rally some new momentum after saying Monday it’s planning equity offerings worth about $80 billion. The Google parent broke it down to $30 billion in underwritten public sales, a $40 billion at-the-market program selling stock over time, and a $10 billion private placement with Berkshire Hathaway. Alphabet said the money will go to AI infrastructure and global compute.
Alphabet said it sees capital spending hitting $180 billion to $190 billion in 2026 and expects a big jump in 2027. That has direct implications for Broadcom—Google’s push on AI means a need for custom chips, networking gear, and data center components, beyond just finished AI models and software.
Broadcom told investors back in March to look for a big jump. The chipmaker put second-quarter revenue around $22 billion, which would be 47% higher than last year. Adjusted EBITDA was guided at about 68% of sales. CEO Hock Tan said first-quarter AI revenue doubled, up 106%, helped by strong demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking.
Analysts are watching to see if demand is coming from more than just a few major buyers. J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur told MarketWatch that “very few competitors have the [research and development] scale/IP” to compete with Broadcom’s networking silicon. He expects Broadcom will hold around 70% of the AI Ethernet switching and routing market, according to MarketWatch. Ethernet switching chips handle data inside data centers, a job that gets tougher as AI clusters expand. MarketWatch
The landscape is shifting. Marvell, which competes with Broadcom in custom silicon and networking, jumped 33% Tuesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called the company “so essential” for AI data-center networking at Computex in Taiwan. Huang told Marvell’s CEO Matt Murphy it could be the “next trillion-dollar company,” Barron’s said. Barron’s
Broadcom didn’t take a hit. Investors saw Marvell’s move as another sign AI spending is moving past Nvidia’s graphics chips and into custom silicon and interconnects. In March, Nvidia said it had put $2 billion into Marvell for a partnership on semi-custom AI hardware and silicon photonics—tech that uses light for quicker, lower-power data transfer.
Marvell’s forecasts are in focus. Reuters said last week the company is looking for custom chip revenue to pass $10 billion by fiscal 2029. Cloud players are putting money into custom chips to cut back on Nvidia processors. Both Marvell and Broadcom have big U.S. cloud clients, including Amazon and Alphabet.
Broadcom shares are set up for a possible 9% move in either direction by the end of the week, based on options pricing, according to Investopedia. The stock is priced for more gains, but a miss, weaker third-quarter outlook, slower software growth or signs that AI demand is peaking could weigh.
Whether Alphabet’s big capacity push signals real, lasting demand, or a scramble late in the cycle, remains open. Broadcom’s update Wednesday won’t close the debate. Still, investors get to see if the recent AI spend is moving to the P&L or just building more hope.
