Broadcom's earnings call sees 'messy start' as CEO Hock Tan begins by reading numbers from a piece of paper that ...

It was a 'messy start' to the second quarter FY2026 earnings call for Broadcom. Reason: Broadcom CEO Hock Tan started his earnings call by reading last year's numbers off a piece of paper. "Well, in Q2, revenue was a record $15 billion as we grew 79% year-on-year. Driving this growth was AI semiconductor revenue at a record $10.8 billion, up 143% — well, let me restart, guys," Tan said to begin the call. He went on to correct, and said, "Thank you, Ji. Thank you, everyone, for joining today. In our fiscal Q2 2026, total revenue reached a record $22.2 billion, up 48% year-on-year, above our guidance on strength in AI semiconductors.”While Broadcom reported revenue of $22.19 billion, slightly exceeding the consensus estimate of $22.13 billion. The numbers reportedly fell short of whisper numbers on Wall Street. Earnings per share came in at $2.44, topping estimates of $2.39. Also Tan did not raise the company's guidance. Broadcom CEO Tan didn’t raise the company’s forecast for AI semiconductor sales in 2026. Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan said that Broadcom will sell $56 billion in AI chips in the fiscal year that ends in October. That forecast fell short of the average estimate of $57.6 billion. “We expect this momentum to continue into fiscal year 2027 and reiterate our AI semiconductor revenue guidance to be in excess of $100 billion,” Tan said. AI chip sales guidance for next quarter came in at $16 billion, below the $17.2 billion Wall Street expected. Shares of Broadcom fell 15% in premarket trading, on track to wipe out about $300 billion in market cap. The rout continued later in the day, wiping billions from Broadcom market cap. Though the company is making headway in pivoting to AI customers, it’s up against outsized investor expectations and that is what reportedly hurt its stock. Broadcom added roughly $270 billion in market value over the last five trading sessions before the earnings report, fueled by AI optimism.Broadcom has signed and expanded long-term deals with companies like Google, Anthropic and Meta, but questions remain about how much revenue will be recognized in each quarter — as opposed to being accounted for in a multiyear backlog. Total revenue in the period ending in July will be about $29.4 billion, Broadcom said. While analysts estimated $28.6 billion on average, some projections ranged billions of dollars higher.Some analysts called the fall in Broadcom stock a reminder to everyone of how high expectations matter. This looks more like a sentiment reset than a fundamental problem. As the company reported nearly 50% revenue growth; 88% earnings growth and AI revenue accelerating.