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Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO | AVGO Price Prediction) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) both sell custom AI silicon and networking chips to hyperscalers. Broadcom trades near $370, roughly 25% below its 52-week high after a Google diversification scare. Marvell has quietly tripled off spring lows. The businesses tell very different stories.
Broadcom Posts Records While Marvell Reaccelerates
Broadcom’s Q2 FY2026 landed at $22.19 billion in revenue, up 47.9% year over year, with AI semiconductor revenue of $10.80 billion, up 143%. Free cash flow ran at 46% of revenue, remarkable at this scale. CEO Hock Tan told investors that “the momentum continues and in Q3 we expect semiconductor revenue from AI to grow over 200 percent year-over-year to $16.0 billion.” That is a step function.
Marvell delivered $2.42 billion in revenue, up 27.6%, with the data center segment doing $1.83 billion, or 76% of the total. Matt Murphy called out “exceptional AI-related bookings” and guided Q2 to $2.70 billion, roughly 35% growth.
| Business Driver | Broadcom | Marvell |
| Main Growth Engine | Custom XPUs, Ethernet AI networking | 800G/1.6T optics, custom XPU-attach |
| AI Revenue (Latest Q) | $10.8B | $1.83B data center |
| Adjacent Business | VMware software ($7.18B) | Post-auto-ethernet pure play |
Cash Machine Versus Comeback Story
Broadcom monetizes scale with 67% non-GAAP operating margins guided into Q3 and multi-year custom-silicon commitments from Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, including the co-developed “Jalapeño” inference chip. Marvell is reshaping itself: it sold automotive ethernet to Infineon for $2.5 billion, then bought Celestial AI for photonic fabric and XConn for chiplet connectivity, and raised $2.0 billion in convertible preferred to fund the pivot.
Capital return follows the same logic. Broadcom runs a $10 billion buyback and pays a $0.65 quarterly dividend. Marvell repurchased $200 million and pays a token $0.06.
Customer Concentration Is the Real Test
The bear case on Broadcom is that Google could shift some custom TPU volume toward cheaper designers like MediaTek. That fear carved the 25% discount off the $494.18 52-week high. Keep an eye on Q3 AI revenue landing at or above $16 billion, and on Marvell’s next data center earnings report, where the 800G to 1.6T optics ramp must show through.
Why Broadcom Looks Better at This Price
You are paying a forward P/E near 19 for a business compounding AI revenue triple digits with 46% free-cash margins and named commitments from Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI. Marvell’s optical scale-up thesis is compelling, but at a forward P/E near 61 and after a 171% year-to-date run, you are underwriting significant upside. If custom silicon consolidates around fewer designers, Broadcom’s incumbency looks structural. If Google splits its TPU work three ways, I will revisit.
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