Broadcom stock (AVGO): how the company makes money and what moves it

Broadcom makes money from semiconductors and enterprise software, while results, guidance and AI-chip demand can move AVGO. It trades on Nasdaq in US dollars. The company sells two different things: semiconductors, mostly for data centres and networks, and software that large organisations run their own data centres on. The shares closed at $364.36 on 12 November 2026.

Key takeaways

• Broadcom sells both chips and enterprise software, and trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker AVGO.
• Broadcom depends on both chip and software revenue.
• Guidance can move the share price sharply.

AVGO price, valuation and dividend

Here are the numbers a quote page shows, and what each one actually tells you.

The price-to-earnings ratio compares the share price with profit per share over the past year. The Wall Street Journal's AVGO page reported a trailing ratio of 46.15 on 12 November 2026. The dividend yield moves whenever either the dividend or the share price moves, so a higher yield can simply mean the shares have fallen.

How Broadcom makes money

Broadcom reports two segments. In fiscal Q3 2026, the quarter ended 2 August 2026, Semiconductor Solutions brought $20.8 billion, or 70% of total revenue. Infrastructure Software brought $8.75 billion, the other 30%.

The chip side sells parts for data centres, networks, wireless devices, servers, storage, broadband and industrial equipment. It includes custom chips built for one customer's own AI work. Inside that segment, AI semiconductor revenue was $16.7 billion in the quarter, up 221% year over year. The CEO attributed the growth to demand for custom chips and networking.

The software side is organised in five portfolios: Private Cloud, Mainframe Software, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Software and FC SAN Management, with VMware Cloud Foundation among the private-cloud products. Broadcom completed its VMware acquisition on 22 November 2023, in a deal whose May 2022 announcement valued VMware at approximately $61 billion and included assuming $8 billion of VMware net debt. Broadcom said its software group would rebrand and operate as VMware.

What moves the AVGO share price

Reported results matter, but the outlook for the next quarter often matters more. Two 2026 sessions show it. On 4 June 2026, Reuters reported that the shares fell more than 14% after second-quarter revenue missed expectations and management left its fiscal 2027 AI-revenue forecast unchanged, with a $16 billion current-quarter AI-chip sales forecast also below Wall Street expectations. After the 2 September 2026 third-quarter report, Reuters reported that revenue and adjusted earnings per share beat analyst estimates, yet the fourth-quarter revenue outlook came in below consensus and the shares were down more than 1% in extended trading.

Customer demand, supply, competition and the mood across the chip sector feed into the same moves. Reuters reported that the June forecast miss tied to custom-AI-chip demand triggered a selloff in Broadcom and in chip peers. On 5 November 2026, Broadcom shares fell more than 10% in a wider sell-off of AI and semiconductor stocks, as investors worried about data-centre expansion.

Large contracts are another input. On 26 October 2026, Broadcom, Bank of America, Blackstone, Citi and Morgan Stanley announced a $63 billion financing structure for AI compute capacity for Anthropic. It was announced as a structure to be executed through a newly formed separate company for the project, with deliveries expected to begin in calendar 2027, not as deliveries already made.

Cash, dividend and debt

Broadcom's latest reported quarter, Q3 fiscal 2026, showed revenue of $29.6 billion, up 86% year over year. GAAP is a standard set of accounting rules. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $2.68. The adjusted figure, which leaves out some costs, was $3.32. Free cash flow, the cash left after running and investing in the business, was $13.7 billion. GAAP net income was $13.1 billion.

The latest declared quarterly dividend was $0.65 per share, announced with the 2 September 2026 results, with an ex-dividend date of 21 September 2026 and payment on 30 September 2026.

Buying large businesses leaves borrowing behind. In the filed statements for the quarter ended 2 August 2026, Broadcom reported $61.1 billion of debt principal and $59.4 billion of debt carrying value, against $24.0 billion of cash, which the filing puts at about $35.4 billion of net debt. Of the remaining notes, $4.5 billion are listed as assumed VMware senior notes, and Broadcom issued $4.5 billion of senior notes in the first three fiscal quarters of 2026 while repaying or repurchasing $10.5 billion.

A single share puts all of this in one company. For the difference between the two main ways to hold a broad basket of shares instead, see our ETF vs index fund guide.

Risks

• Demand for custom AI chips is a known swing factor. Reuters reported that a forecast miss tied to it triggered a selloff in Broadcom and chip peers in June 2026.
• Guidance can hit the share price hard. The shares fell more than 14% on 4 June 2026 after a revenue miss and an unchanged fiscal 2027 AI-revenue forecast.
• Borrowing is sizeable: about $35.4 billion of net debt in the quarter ended 2 August 2026.
• Broadcom's 27 October 2026 SEC filing describes residual-value support for the AI-rack project company, with maximum potential liability of approximately $43 billion upon deployment. That liability is contingent, not a reported loss.
• AVGO is quoted in US dollars, so a euro or krona result depends on the exchange rate as well as the share price.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions

When does Broadcom report next?

Broadcom announced on 9 November 2026 that it will report fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on 9 December 2026, after the close of US trading. Companies usually publish an outlook alongside the figures, and that outlook is what investors compare with their own expectations.

Can I buy Broadcom shares from Europe?

Broadcom's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as AVGO, and quotes there are in US dollars, not euros. Any euro equivalent involves a currency conversion. You'd buy through a broker that gives access to US markets, and the costs and the tax treatment depend on where you live.

Is the $16.7 billion AI revenue a third segment?

No. AI semiconductor revenue of $16.7 billion in the quarter ended 2 August 2026 is a product-line figure inside Semiconductor Solutions. It should not be added to the two segment totals of $20.8 billion and $8.75 billion. Total net revenue for that quarter was $29.6 billion.

When was Broadcom's latest dividend paid?

The latest declared quarterly dividend was $0.65 per share. It was announced with the 2 September 2026 results. The ex-dividend date was 21 September 2026, and payment was on 30 September 2026.

Sources

• The Wall Street Journal: AVGO market data (12 November 2026)
• Broadcom Investor Relations: Broadcom Inc. announces third quarter fiscal year 2026 financial results (2 September 2026)
• Reuters: Broadcom tumbles as revenue miss clouds AI boom bets (4 June 2026)
• San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area AI stocks plunge as data-center concerns mount (5 November 2026)
• Broadcom: Broadcom and partners announce AI compute financing structure (26 October 2026)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Broadcom filing on AI-rack project support (27 October 2026)
• Nasdaq: Broadcom Inc. common stock quote and summary (12 November 2026)
• Broadcom: Broadcom announces fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026 financial results date (9 November 2026)

Cover photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash.