AVGO Q4: AI accelerating, margin next level
As one of the top performers in the entire semiconductor sector this year, $Broadcom(AVGO)$ continued to surge 14% after announcing its Q4 results on Dec. 12 after-hours.
Margin improvement was driven by a relatively strong financial performance in Q4, led by increased revenue in AI, as well as VMware integration and cost control.
Investor reaction to the company's future outlook was quite optimistic as the company again raised its guidance for the next quarter on the call and expects the market for AI gas pedals to rise again to $15-20 billion.
Key Financials and Market Expectations
Total revenue was $14.054 billion, up 51% year-over-year, essentially unchanged from market expectations of $14.08 billion.
Net income on a GAAP basis was $4.324 billion, while non-GAAP net income was $6.965 billion, up 45% year-over-year;
Adjusted EPS was $1.42, beating market expectations of $1.39.
Segment Business Performance
Semiconductor Solutions segment revenue increased 12 percent to $8.23 billion.
Infrastructure Software segment revenue reached $5.82 billion, up 196 percent year-over-year, primarily due to the successful integration of VMware
Guidance
Broadcom expects revenue to reach $14.6 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, up 22% year-over-year, largely in line with market expectations.At the same time, the company plans to increase its quarterly common stock dividend by 11% to $0.59 per share, reflecting its confidence in future cash flow.
Investment Analysis
Overall performance was good, on the revenue side, growth was limited by the non-AI business, but the market is optimistic about the demand for Broadcom's AI products, and the CEO emphasized on the analyst call that there is a huge opportunity in the AI chip market over the next three years.
The highlights of the quarter were
In addition, a few days ago Broadcom announced that it had partnered with Apple to develop in-house server chips designed specifically for AI, which will further boost its market position and revenue growth;
The revenue share of the company's AI business continued to increase, and the growth rate was also faster, accounting for 26.3% of the overall revenue, with a single-quarter revenue of $3.7 billion, which not only exceeded the market's expectations, but also exceeded the company's previous guidance;
The integration with VMWare is advancing relatively smoothly, the company's cost side of the pressure to reduce the profitability of the company's adjusted EBITDA in the quarter reached 90.9 there is no, a year-on-year increase of 50.2%, at the same time, the company's cash flow recovery, the ability to pay off debt rebounded, but also to improve the dividend.
The focus of investor attention on AVGO centered on
Continued growth in AI products: Broadcom's AI revenues grew 220% year-over-year to $12.2 billion in FY2024, a trend that is expected to continue.
Cash flow and dividend policy: The company's strong free cash flow and decision to raise the dividend indicate good financial health.
Competitive market dynamics: the impact of Apple's self-developed chips and the dynamics of other competitors in the AI space.
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