Broadcom AI Chips Surge 221%, Anthropic IPO Slips to October

Broadcom’s AI revenue keeps breaking records, but Wall Street’s bar keeps rising. Meanwhile, the most-watched AI IPO of the year just got pushed back again.

Key points

• Broadcom reported AI chip sales of $16.7 billion in fiscal Q3 2026, a 221% year-over-year surge, exceeding its own guidance by a wide margin.
• Despite the blowout numbers, Broadcom’s forward outlook fell slightly short of elevated analyst estimates, prompting caution from some on Wall Street.
• Anthropic has delayed its IPO, now targeting a mid-October marketing start, with the public filing pushed to late September.
• Memory chip names bounced, with Micron gaining roughly 4% and SanDisk also rallying on renewed AI demand sentiment.
• Marvell raised its annual forecasts yet its shares fell as investors fixated on the uncertain timing of Google custom-chip revenue.

Does Broadcom’s 221% AI surge even matter to the market?

Broadcom’s fiscal Q3 results are objectively extraordinary. AI chip revenue at $16.7 billion, up 221%, is the kind of number that would have looked like science fiction two years ago. The company exceeded its own Q3 guidance by a wide margin.

Yet the stock reaction underscores a recurring theme this earnings cycle: markets are priced for perfection, and “very good” is being penalized if it falls short of “exceptional.” Broadcom’s guidance for the next quarter came in slightly below Wall Street’s lofty expectations, which was enough to keep some analysts cautious. That dynamic is worth watching across the chip sector. The AI infrastructure buildout is real and accelerating, but investor expectations have moved faster than even the strongest revenue lines.

For context, Broadcom’s AI business is fueled largely by custom silicon for hyperscaler customers, a structural position that is difficult for competitors to replicate quickly. The question for investors is not whether AI demand is strong. It clearly is. The question is how much of that growth trajectory is already embedded in the valuation.

Why did Marvell fall after raising guidance?

The Marvell situation is a sharper version of the same problem. The company raised its annual outlook on August 27, which would ordinarily be a catalyst for a rally. Instead, shares declined as investors zeroed in on the timing of revenue tied to a custom AI chip program with Google. That revenue, while expected, remains further out than some had hoped.

This pattern, raised guidance followed by a selloff, reflects how much near-term execution risk is being priced into AI chip names right now. Investors are differentiating between backlog and booked revenue, and between announced partnerships and dollars actually flowing through the income statement.

Anthropic’s IPO keeps slipping. What’s the delay signal?

Anthropic has pushed its IPO marketing window to mid-October, with the public filing now expected in late September. The company is also working to finalize a credit facility ahead of the listing. The timing puts the offering before the US midterm elections, which appears to be a firm constraint.

Delays at this stage are not unusual in large IPO processes, but each slip extends the period of uncertainty for prospective investors and existing shareholders. Anthropic is one of the highest-profile AI companies still private, and the terms and valuation of its eventual offering will set a significant benchmark for the rest of the AI startup ecosystem. For now, mid-October is the working target.

Memory chips and the broader AI trade

Away from the earnings drama, memory chip stocks staged a notable recovery after a recent pullback. Micron rose roughly 4%, with SanDisk also posting gains. AI workloads are extraordinarily memory-intensive, particularly for inference at scale, and demand signals from hyperscalers continue to support the thesis that high-bandwidth memory suppliers sit in a structurally favorable position.

The rally suggests the broader AI trade retains momentum even as individual names face scrutiny over guidance precision. Investors appear willing to buy pullbacks in the memory segment when the underlying demand story remains intact.

Nothing in this article is investment advice. Investors should conduct their own research before making any financial decisions.