We recently published 10 Stocks to Watch as Investors Scramble to Pour Money into AI Trade. Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the stocks that caught analysts’ attention.
Tom Hancock, GMO portfolio manager, said in a recent program on CNBC that Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a relatively safer AI play because of the company’s diversification. However, he said he does not hold “more” AVGO shares because of valuation.
“Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) is more diversified and a safer play. AI is not its only business—it does a lot of other things, including software and semiconductors—but within their AI business, it’s much more targeted with custom chips for companies like Alphabet and Meta, focused on proven use cases such as ad targeting or content delivery. We also think their custom silicon, A6, will gain share over more generic GPUs over time. Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) is relatively well positioned. Our only hesitation around them, and why we don’t hold more, is valuation.”
Photo by L N on Unsplash
For the fiscal fourth quarter, AVGO expects $6.2 billion in AI revenue, up 66% from a year earlier. The company said it secured $10 billion in AI infrastructure orders from a new customer. Many analysts believe this customer is OpenAI. Some media reports said the two companies co-designed a chip that will be launched next year.
What’s Broadcom’s moat? It makes ASIC, chips designed for specific applications and tasks. As major companies look for custom chips to break Nvidia monopoly and lower costs, Broadcom is positioned well to thrive. Many top AI spenders are teaming up with Broadcom to develop these chips, which are expected to be high-margin, high-volume products, potentially driving substantial growth in both revenue and profits.
Columbia Threadneedle Global Technology Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Shares of fellow semiconductor giant Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) also outperformed during the quarter, as customer demand for the company’s custom accelerator chips remained insatiable despite the uncertain economic environment. The company is on pace for 10 consecutive quarters of AI-related semiconductor growth and expects continued strong demand persist, due to the sizable AI opportunity. In addition to its dominant market position, the company’s history of strong capital returns to shareholders results in a favorable outlook for a sizable investor base.”
While we acknowledge the potential of AVGO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
