Broadcom Inc., the giant semiconductor developer that traces its roots to Irvine, has joined the $2 trillion club.
The company’s market capitalization hit that notable marker in May and has been holding steady ever since.
It is now the world’s seventh most valuable publicly traded company, trailing famous firms like Nvidia Corp., $5.2 trillion, Alphabet Inc., $4.7 trillion, and Apple Inc., $4.5 trillion. Saudi Aramco ranks eighth with a $1.8 trillion market cap.
Broadcom is riding a wave of enthusiasm for its customized AI chips, which it sells to companies like Alphabet, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic. Broadcom’s AI semiconductor revenue rose 65% to $20 billion in fiscal 2025; the company last December said it had a $73 billion backlog.
Analysts are forecasting sales will grow 62% this fiscal year to $103.3 billion, followed by 54% growth in fiscal 2027 to $159 billion.
Chairman Henry Samueli co-founder of the predecessor firm, traces his success to building a radio in seventh grade, which astounded his teacher.
“My electric shop teacher was probably the one who pushed me the hardest,” Samueli said during a talk last year with Paula Golden, president of the Broadcom Foundation.
“He said ‘Henry, you better pursue that as a career because you’re going to do something great as an engineer.’”
That greatness is shown in a company now employing some 33,000 people, including 1,300 in Orange County.
Earnings Ahead on June 3
Broadcom is scheduled to release fiscal second quarter results on June 3.
The average of 35 analysts’ estimates cited by Yahoo Finance on May 28 predict revenue of $22.1 billion for the second fiscal quarter, a 45% rise from the same period in 2025.
The shares were trading at $428.51 each as of May 28, up more than 75% over the past year for a market cap of nearly $2.03 trillion.
The shares have risen ninefold in the past five years.
Key Agreement With Google
In April, Broadcom announced a long-term agreement with Alphabet, the parent of Google, to design and supply Google with custom artificial intelligence processors, called tensor processing units, and networking components for the search giant’s AI racks. (Nasdaq: GOOGL).
“Google’s plan to offer its TPUs on a merchant basis bodes favorable for Broadcom,” Raymond James Managing Director Simon Leopold said in a note to clients at the end of April.
Samueli established Broadcom in 1991 in Redondo Beach with Henry T. Nicholas III. The duo moved to Irvine in 1995 and vaulted into the ranks of billionaires shortly after going public in 1998.
Samueli’s wealth has soared in the past year. Last July, the Business Journal estimated his net worth at $29 billion.
Now, he might be worth more than $40 billion, as his 1.8% stake in Broadcom alone is estimated at $35.6 billion. He also owns the Anaheim Ducks, which is valued at $1.4 billion. He’s also funding the $4 billion OCVibe in Anaheim (see story, page 1).
1,300 OC Employees
The current version of Broadcom is the result of its being acquired in 2016 by Avago Technologies in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $37 billion. The day following the acquisition, shares of the combined company traded around $13 each; since then, it has risen more than 30 times.
Avago eventually changed its name to Broadcom Inc., with the ticker remaining AVGO and Samueli retaining the role of chairman.
Broadcom had an estimated 1,300 employees in OC as of January, placing it as the No. 1 spot on the Business Journal’s rankings of the largest semiconductor companies by local headcount.
Broadcom had more than 50 jobs in Irvine posted on its website as of May 28, including R&D Engineer Hardware 3; Sr Mainframe Technical Consultant; and R&D Engineer Hardware 5.
Irvine was Broadcom’s headquarters for more than two decades before the Avago deal.
