Broadcom stock falls as margin warning raises concerns about AI profits

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Dec. 12 (Reuters) – Broadcom Stock (AVGO.O)opens a new tab Shares fell more than 11% on Friday as the chipmaker warned that rising sales of low-margin custom AI processors were weighing on profitability, raising concerns that the business' profitability would decline.
A day after Oracle fell 10.8% on a massive debt-funded capital investment to build AI infrastructure, warnings about the impact on margins deepened investor turmoil over Big Tech's AI returns.

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Investor scrutiny of AI investments has intensified in recent months following a ferocious rally in tech stocks that has pushed some valuations to record highs. Cyclical trading, in which companies invest in their own customers, is also fueling fears of a bubble.

Still, multiple analysts said AI's potential remains intact and stocks benefiting from the technology, especially chipmakers, will see big gains in the year as the industry spends hundreds of billions of dollars to bring more capacity online.

Broadcom, whose services are key for companies looking to develop custom AI processors, has won big contracts this year, including $21 billion from Anthropic in the past two quarters for Google's custom Ironwood chips. Despite Friday's decline, the company's stock has risen more than 57% since the beginning of the year.

Illustration shows the Broadcom logo
This illustration taken on March 6, 2023 shows a smartphone displaying the Broadcom logo resting on a computer motherboard. Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration purchase license rightopens a new tab
The company trades at about 32 times its enterprise value, which takes forward its core profits, while AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.O)'s enterprise value is 19.6 times.opens a new tab Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) is 30.2xopens a new tab. Nvidia's stock is up 34% this year, while AMD's is up 83%.

“At this point, spending intentions still look very high for many people, so it's too early to hit the panic button,” said Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Melius Research.

But Broadcom said its profit margins would be under pressure throughout the year due to the high proportion of revenue coming from AI. There is a $73 billion backlog with orders expected to ship over the next 18 months.

If current losses continue, Broadcom's market capitalization could fall by more than $213 billion.

“We believe this decline is due to commentary on gross margin dilution from AI chips, which is not a concern to us as these chips are accretive to operating margins,” Morningstar analysts said.

Alan John reports from London and Zaheer Kachwala and Joel Jose from Bangalore. Editing: Amanda Cooper and Arun Koyur

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