NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 21:09 ET — Market closed
Marvell Technology (MRVL.O) fell $1.78, or about 2.1%, to $84.98 on Wednesday. Trading volume was about 7.2 million shares.
The decline came as Wall Street ended 2025’s final session lower in holiday-thin trade, with the Nasdaq down 0.76% and the S&P 500 off 0.74%, Reuters reported. “It’s perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity, pointing to profit-taking when liquidity was low. Reuters
The year-end drift matters because the market’s gains have been driven by the artificial intelligence trade, leaving investors sensitive to repositioning and rate expectations heading into 2026. Reuters said investors are watching the Federal Reserve’s path as economic data returns to a more normal cadence.
For Marvell, the core question is whether data-center demand can sustain growth in its custom chip and networking businesses as cloud customers scale AI workloads. CEO Matt Murphy said earlier this month Marvell expected roughly $10 billion in total revenue for its next fiscal year, including a 25% jump in data center revenue, and projected its custom chip business to grow 20%.
Murphy has also pushed deeper into photonics — using light rather than electrical signals to connect chips and memory — as hyperscalers seek faster, more power-efficient data-center links. Reuters reported Marvell’s $3.25 billion agreement to acquire Celestial AI added photonics fabric technology and intensified competition with peers such as Broadcom and Nvidia.
A Dec. 2 SEC filing said Marvell expects the Celestial transaction to close in the first quarter of calendar 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The filing said the deal includes about $1.0 billion in cash and about 27.2 million shares of Marvell common stock at closing, with additional shares tied to revenue-based milestones.
Before the next session, U.S. stock markets will be closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day and reopen on Friday, Jan. 2, with regular trading hours, Barron’s reported.
Rate expectations remain a key swing factor for semiconductors, which often trade like growth stocks because much of their valuation rests on future earnings. Reuters reported this week the Fed’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27-28 and investors were expecting no change in the benchmark rate.
The next high-profile macro checkpoint is the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI report for December, due at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 5. The PMI is a monthly survey-based gauge of factory activity; readings below 50 signal contraction.
Marvell has not confirmed its next earnings date, but Zacks expects the company to report around March 4. On the chart, Marvell ends the year below its 50-day moving average (about $87.5), while remaining above its 200-day moving average (about $74), levels traders often use as short- and longer-term trend markers.
Marvell has traded between roughly $47 and $127 over the past 52 weeks, according to Investing.com, leaving the stock well off its high even after early-December deal optimism.
With holiday volumes fading, the next directional cue is likely to come from early January data and the next round of company guidance on data-center demand and deal execution.
