Broadcom stock hits record high on positive guidance, CEO comments

Investing.com– Shares of network equipment maker Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:) hit a record high in aftermarket trade on Thursday evening after the company forecast stronger-than-expected revenue for the current quarter.

Broadcom’s gains were also driven by positive comments by CEO Hock Tan during the earnings call, as Tan highlighted increased tailwinds from the artificial intelligence industry. 

Broadcom surged more than 15% to hit an indicated record high of over $207. Gains in the stock spilled over into other chipmakers, with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) and AMD (NASDAQ:) rising 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively. 

Broadcom clocked a stronger-than-expected profit for the quarter to November 30. The firm forecast revenue of $14.6 billion for the current quarter, slightly above estimates of $14.57 billion. The firm also hiked its quarterly dividend by 11% to 59 cents. 

A bulk of Broadcom’s gains came after CEO Tan flagged increasing revenues from the AI industry. Tan said the company expects a $15 billion to $20 billion market for its AI accelerators in 2025. 

Tan also said the company remained open to more dealmaking activity, which he said has been part of Broadcom’s strategy for at least the past decade. The company has slowly become a tech conglomerate through a series of acquisitions, most recently being its $68 billion buy of cloud firm VMware (NYSE:). 

Gains in Broadcom also came after The Information reported the company was working with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) to develop a server chip designed specifically for artificial intelligence.

Apple is Broadcom’s biggest customer for wireless chips used in mobile phones, but is reportedly planning to develop its own in-house chips.