Broadcom's CEO Pushes Back as Anthropic Emerges as the Chipmaker's Biggest Custom-Silicon Client

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan says AI concerns don't threaten expansion, with Anthropic set to become its top custom silicon client by 2027.

Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan has moved to calm nerves over the company's artificial-intelligence roadmap, telling CNBC in a recent interview that concerns about a slowdown in the development of new frontier AI models pose no threat to the chipmaker's expansion plans. Guidance for fiscal 2027 and 2028, he insisted, remains fully intact.

The reassurances arrive with the stock under pressure. Broadcom shares finished Wednesday at EUR 296.00, roughly 31 percent below their 52-week peak of EUR 429.60 set in June. Over the past 30 days the equity has shed 9.8 percent, and an RSI reading of 34.1 puts it in oversold territory.

Anthropic Takes the Top Customer Slot

Tan did not stop at broad assurances. By 2027, he said, Anthropic will overtake every other client for Broadcom's custom silicon and hold that position through 2028.

Those customer commitments form the heart of his message: they are meant to demonstrate that the ambitious revenue targets laid out in September rest on something sturdier than optimism — namely concrete, long-dated supply agreements with major technology players. Alongside Anthropic, Tan pointed to Google and Meta as anchors underpinning confidence in the company's long-run AI growth objectives.

Brussels Keeps the Pressure On

Even as the AI-demand debate plays out, headwinds from Europe are building. Cloud providers have reportedly been asked to supply further information ahead of a key deadline in their dispute with Broadcom. Back in April, the General Court of the European Union rejected a Broadcom request to suspend the European Commission's information demands.

A separate product decision has also stirred controversy, with critics reading it as fresh evidence of how forcefully Broadcom is wielding its market power in the virtualization business — an issue likely to add fuel to the Brussels review.

Buyback and Dividend Keep Cash Flowing

Regulatory questions notwithstanding, Broadcom is sticking with its capital-return playbook. The board has authorized a repurchase program of up to USD 10 billion running through the end of December 2026.

Shareholders also have a quarterly payout to count on: a regular dividend of USD 0.65 per share, with a record date of September 21, 2026.

A Record Quarter That Still Fell Short of Expectations

The operational backdrop is striking. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Broadcom posted record revenue of USD 29.6 billion, up 86 percent year over year, with AI-related semiconductor business contributing USD 16.7 billion of that total.

Adjusted earnings per share beat the consensus, coming in at USD 3.32 against the USD 3.24 analysts had penciled in, according to LSEG data. Even so, the market's response to the fourth-quarter outlook was muted. Management guided for revenue of roughly USD 34.8 billion in the closing quarter — growth of 93 percent year over year, yet just shy of the USD 35.03 billion consensus estimate. Executives reaffirmed that figure on the follow-up earnings call.

The tepid reaction underscores how demanding valuations have become across the technology sector. A near-doubling of quarterly revenue is not always enough when expectations heading into the print were sky-high.

Cantor Fitzgerald Sees Room to Run

Not everyone is holding back. On September 8, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse raised his price target to USD 600 from USD 525 while keeping an "Overweight" rating — a notably bullish stance set against the market's recent caution and investor uncertainty about near-term AI momentum.

Whether that confidence from Cantor Fitzgerald and peers can durably lift the shares depends on sustained demand for specialty chips. For now, investors are left weighing two competing narratives: a business whose AI orders and customer ties look increasingly locked in, and a regulatory review in Europe that remains an unresolved source of uncertainty — one that helps explain the stock's recent trajectory.