Core Viewpoint - Despite not raising the full-year guidance for fiscal year 2026 as some investors expected, Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a "Buy" rating for Broadcom, citing the company's strengthening dominance in the custom chip sector and robust fundamentals in its AI business [1][2]. Financial Performance - Broadcom reported a strong fourth-quarter revenue of $18 billion, exceeding market expectations of $17.5 billion. The guidance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 is set at $19.1 billion, significantly above the analyst forecast of $18.3 billion. This growth is primarily driven by a 74% year-over-year increase in AI semiconductor revenue [1][5]. - The AI semiconductor revenue reached $6.5 billion, surpassing the expected $6.2 billion, while total semiconductor solutions revenue was $11.1 billion, above the anticipated $10.7 billion. Infrastructure software revenue was $6.9 billion, slightly exceeding expectations [5]. Market Reaction and Guidance - The market's reaction to the earnings report may be mixed, as there is disappointment over the lack of an updated full-year guidance for fiscal year 2026. Analysts noted that the absence of an upward revision could lead to short-term stock price pressure [1][3]. - Goldman Sachs' analysts predict that Broadcom's AI revenue growth for fiscal year 2026 will actually exceed 100%, despite management's conservative stance not reflecting the actual business momentum [3]. Customer Expansion and Orders - Broadcom has made significant progress in customer expansion, maintaining strong momentum with its largest client, Google, and announcing a new major customer. The company has secured a fifth XPU customer and received an additional $11 billion order from Anthropic for fiscal year 2026 [4]. - The backlog of AI orders has reached $73 billion for the next 18 months, indicating strong demand, with additional orders expected to increase this figure [4]. Profitability Trends - Broadcom's gross margin for the fourth quarter was 77.9%, slightly above market expectations. The adjusted EBITDA margin guidance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 is set at 67% [5]. - Goldman Sachs noted that as Broadcom begins delivering full-rack solutions to Anthropic and potentially OpenAI in the second half of fiscal year 2026, there may be some dilution in gross and operating margins due to a higher proportion of direct components in these solutions [5]. Valuation Logic - Goldman Sachs raised Broadcom's 12-month price target from $435 to $450, based on an increase in AI revenue expectations and improved visibility into industry cycles. The estimated EPS was adjusted from $11.50 to $12.00, maintaining a 38x P/E multiple [2][7].