Who’s Really The King of Custom Silicon, Broadcom or Marvell Technology?
Broadcom and Marvell both design custom AI chips for the same hyperscaler clients, but their quarterly numbers tell two very different stories about who actually controls the future of cloud silicon.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO | AVGO Price Prediction) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) just delivered earnings that clarified the pecking order in custom AI silicon. Broadcom posted $22.2 billion in quarterly revenue with $10.8 billion from AI chips. Marvell put up $2.418 billion, with data center at 76% of the mix. Both design ASICs for hyperscalers. Only one is running the table.
Hock Tan’s Gigawatt Machine vs. Matt Murphy’s Roadmap Sprint
Broadcom’s quarter was a scale flex. AI semiconductor revenue grew 143% year-on-year, and Q3 guidance calls for $16 billion in AI revenue, up over 200%. Hock Tan pointed to 10 gigawatts of shipments planned for 2027 across Google TPUs, Meta MTIA, OpenAI, and Anthropic, with FY2027 AI revenue guided “in excess of $100 billion”. Networking made up nearly 40% of AI revenue, a moat competitors have not matched.
Marvell’s story is narrower but accelerating. Matt Murphy raised FY2027 revenue to ~$11.5 billion and FY2028 to ~$16.5 billion. He said “the level of custom engagement with key customers remains unprecedented.” The Celestial AI and XConn deals plug directly into scale-up optics and switching, where Marvell aims for a $10 billion custom silicon run rate by FY2029.
| Business Driver | Broadcom | Marvell |
| Quarterly AI revenue | $10.8B | Embedded in $1.83B data center |
| Marquee customers | Google TPU, Meta MTIA | AWS Trainium, Microsoft Maia |
| Share of co-design market | ~70% | ~20% |
Incumbent Lock-In vs. Dual-Source Insurgency
Broadcom sells the whole rack. Custom XPUs, Tomahawk 6 Ethernet switches, Jericho fabrics, and 1.6T co-packaged optics travel together, and the AI XPV Platform with Apollo and Blackstone aims to fund more than 20 gigawatts of deployed compute through 2028. That is vertical integration hyperscalers rarely walk away from. Marvell is the pressure valve. Cloud giants want a second source, and Murphy is building the ramp: interconnect growth above 70% in FY2027, DCI modules on a $1 billion annualized path by FY2028, and a new Tier 1 XPU program with firm requirements locked in.
Valuation reflects both narratives. AVGO trades at a forward multiple of 21. MRVL sits at a forward multiple of 55 after a 161.64% year-to-date rally. The market is paying up for the challenger’s slope.
What I’m Watching Into Q4
For Broadcom, I want to see if AI networking holds near the 40% mix or drifts toward Tan’s 30% expectation as XPU volumes ramp. For Marvell, the swing factor is Celestial AI photonics execution and whether the flagship XPU program ships without slippage.
How the Setups Compare for Investors
Broadcom screens as the incumbent play. The 67% operating margin, six locked-in gigawatt customers, and VMware’s 93% software gross margin support durable cash flow at a reasonable forward multiple. Marvell screens as the higher-beta challenger. If hyperscalers genuinely dual-source, MRVL’s optics and interconnect roadmap offers steeper upside, though the valuation and 2.246 beta imply meaningful drawdown risk. Pullbacks tied to AI capex jitters rather than fundamental deterioration are the more constructive entry windows on either name.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Alex Sirois is a financial writer with experience spanning both retail and institutional investing. He has written for InvestorPlace and held roles at BNY Mellon and Bernstein, giving him a perspective that bridges Main Street portfolios and Wall Street analysis.
Alex holds an MBA from George Washington University and has built his career across multiple industries, including e-commerce, education, and translation — a breadth of experience that informs how he breaks down complex financial topics for everyday investors. His writing is conversational, actionable, and grounded in long-term, buy-and-hold investing principles.
At 247 Wall St., Alex focuses on delivering analysis that is both accessible and useful, with a clear emphasis on helping readers make more informed decisions with their money.
