Sep 2, 2026 earnings call — XPU-driven AI revenue surge
Broadcom expects Q4 AI revenue of $21.7 billion, up 236% year-on-year.
Revenue $29.6B (est $29.2B) · EPS $3.32 (est $3.22)
Key quotes
"Our 6 XPU customers are accelerating the adoption of custom accelerators and AI semiconductor revenue more than tripled year-over-year to $16.7 billion."
"In Ethernet switching for scale up and scale out, we were first to market with our 100-terabit Tomahawk 6 and we just taped out Tomahawk 7, the industry's first 200 terabit per second Ethernet switch."
"In June, we established the AI XPV platform in partnership with Apollo and Blackstone to enable more than 20 gigawatts of compute infrastructure for OpenAI and Anthropic by the end of 2028."
Analyst Q&A 11
supply limits for planned growth
Q (Joseph Moore · Morgan Stanley): Can you describe supply bottlenecks and what could raise your shipment outlook?
A: Management said they have secured supply and set a conservative outlook at $115 billion for fiscal '27. They said they can ship significantly more if they can secure more supply and would uplift the outlook if circumstances change. The same approach applies to the $230 billion outlook for fiscal '28.
"But we are -- we have secured supply, and we think it's the right number to put it to $115 billion." — Hock Tan (CEO)
Singapore substrate capacity timing
Q (Blayne Curtis · Jefferies): Has any XPU customer decided to use your Singapore capacity, and how does that fit the supply picture? Also, is the 10 gigawatts you cited only for Anthropic?
A: Management said they will start deploying their Singapore fab for substrates starting fiscal '27 to address a key supply bottleneck. They also clarified that the 10 gigawatts number is just for Anthropic.
"Well, we are going to start deploying our Singapore fab for substrates, by the way, starting fiscal '27." — Hock Tan (CEO)
Tomahawk 6 and Ultra adoption
Q (Harlan Sur · JPMorgan): How fast has Tomahawk 6 ramped, who is using it in XPU customers, and what is the adoption of Tomahawk Ultra?
A: They said Tomahawk 6 has been a strong success with two versions (100-gig and 200-gig SerDes) and is deployed in nearly all AI hyperscalers building XPUs. Tomahawk Ultra adoption surprised them and is starting to be deployed this quarter and into fiscal '27 for scale-up applications. Management said Ultra enables scaling up within GPU/XPU racks over Ethernet with similar loss and latency performance.
"We actually have 2 versions of Tomahawk 6. Both are very successful and both are deployed in pretty much all of the AI hyperscalers that are building XPUs with us." — Charlie Kawwas (PRESIDENT)
gigawatt counts and revenue per GW
Q (Stacy Rasgon · Bernstein): Can you confirm the gigawatt counts for fiscal '27 and '28 and explain the implied revenue per gigawatt and how that should trend?
A: Management said the gigawatt totals they outlined reflect customer journeys but they are conservative on deployment timing because deployment needs data center shells and systems in place. They said they are giving $115 billion for fiscal '27 and $230 billion for fiscal '28 and summarized that they believe they will ship $350 billion of AI semiconductors to these customers over the next two years. They also said XPUs can deliver similar or better performance at about half the cost.
"So another way of saying is we believe with a pretty high degree of confidence, we will ship $350 billion of AI semiconductors to these customers in the next 2 years." — Hock Tan (CEO)
backstop financing exposure
Q (Jack Adair · Melius): What is the maximum off-balance-sheet risk for the backstop agreements, and what is the residual value risk?
A: Management said they have nothing new to announce today on residual value guarantees for backstop agreements and that the previously disclosed numbers remain true. They said future strategic financing will be evaluated deal-by-deal and tailored to each lab and investor.
"Listen, we don't have anything to announce today on residual value guarantees for backstop." — Amie O'Toole (CFO)
gross margin impact from XPU mix
Q (Vivek Arya · BofA): Will rising XPU mix and higher memory costs impact gross margins in fiscal '27 and '28, and how much do CSPs influence customer silicon choices?
A: Amie said gross margin for Semiconductor Solutions was approximately 67% (Q4 or Q3 as she corrected) and that gross margin reflects revenue mix between Semiconductors and Infrastructure Software and higher memory content within Semiconductors. Hock said they focus on operating margin because revenue growth outpaces operating expenses, providing operating leverage even if gross margin dilutes.
"Gross margin really reflects revenue mix between both Semiconductors and Infrastructure Software." — Amie O'Toole (CFO)
Tomahawk Ultra attach rate
Q (Thomas O'Malley · Barclays): How should we think about attach rate of Tomahawk Ultra to your ASICs and networking penetration when customers buy your accelerators?
A: They said customers building XPUs deploy Tomahawk 6 and some are adopting Tomahawk Ultra as well. Tomahawk Ultra and Tomahawk 6 are being used in scale-up XPU clusters and in some GPU clusters, helped by Ethernet-based openness and industry standards.
"At this point in time, we're seeing it pretty much deployed in both XPU clusters and in some GPU clusters." — Charlie Kawwas (PRESIDENT)
sensitivity to land, power, shell
Q (William Stein · Truist): To what degree is your outlook sensitive to constraints in land, power, and data center shell availability?
A: Management said they engage closely with each customer on land, power and site systems before they believe capacity will be deployed because site power shell and construction have long lead times. They said this analysis is reflected in the forecast outlook they gave.
"And we do that not development, but analysis with our customer, and we reflect that in the forecast outlook we're giving you today." — Hock Tan (CEO)
XPV financing for Anthropic/OpenAI
Q (Joshua Buchalter · TD Cowen): Will most Anthropic and OpenAI gigawatts be financed through the XPV and what is the timeline and hurdles to secure that financing?
A: Hock said not every site will be the same and noted Anthropic is on a path to an IPO which will change its investment profile, while OpenAI is less clear. Amie said partners will look for financing from many sources and Broadcom may step in case-by-case if it makes sense within their framework.
"I mean I think just to double down on that, I think in every scenario, our partners were going to be looking for financing from lots of different sources." — Amie O'Toole (CFO)
other supply chain constraints
Q (James Schneider · Goldman Sachs): Besides land/power/shell, what other supply chain constraints (memory, substrates, components) affect your outlook and will they ease?
A: They said it's a multidimensional issue: land, power and shell dictate timing and are a major concern. They are building substrate capacity in Singapore to address substrate bottlenecks and noted HBM and system memory are additional constraints customers must secure. Management said different constraints can become bottlenecks at different times.
"It dictates specific timing of when this capacity gets deployed and be available." — Hock Tan (CEO)
dollars per gigawatt and CapEx
Q (Vijay Rakesh · Mizuho): How should dollars per gigawatt change across XPU generations, and are you adding laser and indium phosphide capacity in CapEx?
A: Charlie said they are expanding factories for EML, CW, VCSEL and indium phosphide in the U.S. and Singapore, more than tripling capacity year-on-year as part of higher CapEx. Hock said demand for lasers far surpasses supply and they are doubling down, and he estimated dollar content per gigawatt in the range of $20 billion to $30 billion and expects it to stay at that level as chip power increases.
"So what we are seeing per gigawatt is in the range of less than $30 billion, $20 billion to $30 billion per gigawatt." — Hock Tan (CEO)