Updated 3 September 2026. Broadcom (AVGO) reported fiscal Q3 2026 after the close on 2 September. Revenue rose 86% to $29.6 billion and adjusted EPS came in at $3.32 against a $3.24 consensus. AI semiconductor revenue more than tripled to $16.7 billion, up 221% year over year. The stock closed the regular session at $367.24 and fell in extended trading anyway.
Verdict: this is a beat that got sold. The entire reaction traces to one line in the outlook: fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $34.8 billion against a $35.03 billion consensus, a shortfall of about 0.7%. Nothing in the quarter itself disappointed. What the market repriced was the pace of acceleration, not the direction of it.
Key facts
- Q3 revenue: $29.6 billion, up 86% from $15.95 billion a year earlier, ahead of the roughly $29.43 billion consensus – CNBC
- Adjusted EPS: $3.32 versus $3.24 expected, extending a run of beats that now stands at nine consecutive quarters – Investing.com
- AI semiconductor revenue: $16.7 billion, up 221% year over year and up 54% sequentially, now 56% of total revenue – 24/7 Wall St
- The number that caused the selling: Q4 revenue guided to $34.8 billion, up 93% year over year, against a $35.03 billion consensus – CNBC
- Q4 AI guidance: $21.7 billion, up 236% year over year; full-year fiscal 2026 AI semiconductor revenue guided to about $58 billion, up 186%
- Spot: $367.24 at the 2 September close, down 0.66% from $369.68 on 1 September, in a 52-week range of $289.96 to $495.00 – Yahoo Finance
- Extended-session move: reported between -4% and -6%, and the sources genuinely disagree. See the section below before quoting any single figure
The Quarter Was Not the Problem
It is worth separating the two halves of this report, because almost every number in the first half was better than expected.
Revenue of $29.6 billion is 86% growth on a base that was already large. AI semiconductor revenue of $16.7 billion grew 221% year over year and 54% sequentially, which means the AI business alone is now bigger than Broadcom’s entire company was as recently as a few years ago, and it crossed the line into being the majority of the business at 56% of total revenue. Adjusted EPS of $3.32 beat the $3.24 the street was carrying.
On the call, CEO Hock Tan said demand for custom AI accelerators and networking remains very strong. That is the segment where Broadcom’s position is genuinely differentiated: it designs custom accelerators for the hyperscalers rather than selling a general-purpose part into an open market, which is why its AI revenue can compound at a different rate than the merchant silicon market does.
What Actually Broke: A 0.7% Guidance Miss
The fourth-quarter outlook is where the report turned. Broadcom guided to $34.8 billion of revenue against a $35.03 billion consensus. In absolute terms that is a gap of about $230 million on a $35 billion quarter, or roughly 0.7%.
Set against what the same guidance implies – 93% year-over-year revenue growth, and AI revenue of $21.7 billion growing 236% – a 0.7% shortfall is a strange thing to sell a stock on. But that is the arithmetic of a name priced for acceleration. When a company’s multiple embeds the assumption that AI revenue keeps beating, the beat itself becomes the baseline, and merely matching a very high bar reads as a deceleration signal.
This is the same dynamic that has been running through the AI semiconductor complex all quarter. The absolute growth rates remain extraordinary. The market has begun grading them on second derivatives instead.
Investor Takeaway
Nothing in Q3 deteriorated. The stock fell because a $34.8 billion guide landed 0.7% under a $35.03 billion expectation, while still implying 93% growth. That is a valuation reaction, not a fundamentals reaction, and the two behave very differently over the following weeks.
How Far Did the Stock Actually Fall? The Sources Disagree
This is worth stating carefully rather than picking a number. Reporting on the extended-session move is inconsistent, because extended trading is thin and the figure depends entirely on when it was measured:
- CNBC reported shares fell 5% in extended trading
- TipRanks reported a 4% drop
- TradingKey reported shares fell over 6% after hours
From the $367.24 close, that range spans roughly $345 to $353. One outlet, FX Leaders, framed the move as the stock falling below $350 and testing support. The honest summary is a mid-single-digit decline; anyone quoting a precise percentage should say which outlet and which moment they took it from. The number that matters is where AVGO settles in Thursday’s regular session, not where thin after-hours prints put it.
AVGO 12-month analyst targets: low, average, high
The anchors below are published analyst targets rather than house scenarios, so each is a figure someone put their name to. Note the measurement dates: most of these were set before the print, and the post-earnings revision cycle has not finished.
| Scenario | Level | vs $367.24 spot | Anchor and what has to be true |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear | $345 | -6.1% | UBS lifted its target to this level ahead of the print, per Yahoo Finance. It sits below spot, which makes it the genuine downside anchor here. To get there and stay, the guidance shortfall would have to be the first of several rather than a rounding error, and hyperscaler custom-silicon orders would have to show signs of digestion. |
| Base | $511.88 | +39.4% | Street average across a panel of 25 Buys and 3 Holds, a Strong Buy consensus, per MarketBeat, which measured it as 38.2% upside from a slightly higher spot than the 2 September close. Requires AI revenue to hit roughly the guided $21.7 billion in Q4 and the $58 billion full-year figure to land. |
| Bull | $580 | +58.0% | J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur, Buy rating, the highest of the targets identified here. Bank of America’s Vivek Arya carries $530 and BMO’s Harsh Kumar initiated at Outperform with $455 on 21 August 2026. The bull case is that custom accelerators plus networking get valued as a durable franchise rather than as a cyclical semiconductor line. |
The spread is the story. Even the lowest identified target sits only about 6% below spot, while the consensus average sits nearly 40% above it. That is not a market arguing about whether Broadcom’s AI business works. It is a market arguing about what multiple to pay for growth that everyone agrees is happening.
Where This Sits in the AI Semiconductor Tape
Broadcom is the third major AI-semiconductor print of this cycle, and the pattern has been consistent: strong absolute numbers, and a share-price reaction driven by guidance rather than by results. AVGO is down about 6.4% from its $392.23 close on 3 August and sits 25.8% below its 52-week high of $495.00, despite a quarter in which AI revenue tripled.
The customer list is the underappreciated part of the position. Broadcom designs custom AI silicon for hyperscalers including Google, whose own stock has fallen 9.7% over the past month on AI-capex concerns of its own. If the hyperscalers slow their spending, Broadcom’s order book is where it shows up first. If they do not, the guidance quibble that moved the stock on 2 September will look like noise within two quarters.
Quick Take
Revenue up 86%, AI revenue up 221%, a ninth straight EPS beat, and the stock fell mid-single digits because next quarter’s guide missed by 0.7%. The bear anchor is 6% away and the consensus average is 39% away. Whichever direction this resolves, it will be settled by hyperscaler capex, not by this quarter’s numbers.
Frequently asked questions
When did Broadcom report Q3 2026 earnings?
Broadcom reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 results after the market close on 2 September 2026, with a management conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific / 5:00 PM Eastern the same day.
Did Broadcom beat earnings expectations?
Yes, on both lines. Revenue of $29.6 billion came in ahead of the roughly $29.43 billion consensus, and adjusted EPS of $3.32 beat the $3.24 estimate. It was the ninth consecutive quarterly beat.
Why did Broadcom stock fall if it beat?
Because of fourth-quarter guidance. Broadcom guided to $34.8 billion of revenue while analysts expected $35.03 billion, a shortfall of about 0.7%. For a stock priced on the assumption that AI revenue keeps accelerating, matching rather than exceeding a high bar was read as a deceleration signal.
How much did AVGO stock drop after earnings?
Reported figures range from 4% to over 6% in extended trading, and outlets disagree because after-hours pricing is thin and time-dependent: CNBC reported 5%, TipRanks 4%, and TradingKey over 6%. From the $367.24 close that implies roughly $345 to $353. The regular-session close is the reliable figure.
What is Broadcom’s AI revenue guidance?
Broadcom guided fourth-quarter AI semiconductor revenue to $21.7 billion, up 236% year over year, and full-year fiscal 2026 AI semiconductor revenue to approximately $58 billion, up 186% from the prior year.
What is the analyst price target for AVGO?
The street average is $511.88 across a panel of 25 Buys and 3 Holds, a Strong Buy consensus, per MarketBeat. Individual targets identified here run from $345 (UBS, set ahead of the print) to $580 (J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur), with Bank of America at $530 and BMO at $455. Most were set before the 2 September report, so the revision cycle is still in progress.
Is Broadcom’s AI business bigger than the rest of the company?
Yes, as of this quarter. AI semiconductor revenue of $16.7 billion represented 56% of total Q3 revenue of $29.6 billion, the first time it has been the majority of the business.
Sources: Q3 results, guidance and the extended-session reaction from CNBC, Investing.com, 24/7 Wall St, TipRanks and TradingKey; price, day range and 52-week range from Yahoo Finance (2 September 2026 close, 4:00 PM EDT); analyst targets from MarketBeat, TipRanks, Benzinga and Yahoo Finance.
This article is for information purposes only and is not financial advice. FinanceFeeds does not recommend buying or selling any security. Analyst price targets describe other people’s published expectations, not outcomes, and semiconductor shares can move sharply on guidance. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed financial adviser.