NEW YORK, Feb 13, 2026, 10:39 EST — Regular session
- Broadcom slipped 0.9% to $328.36 in morning action.
- D.A. Davidson initiated coverage at Neutral, setting a $335 price target and flagging concerns about the economics of custom AI chips.
- Softer U.S. inflation numbers are on investors’ minds as they look ahead to company updates expected on March 4.
Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) dipped 0.9% to $328.36 Friday morning, surrendering gains after an initial surge to $334.16. Shares then edged down further, reaching $326.28.
This shift hits right at the center of the AI gold rush, with Broadcom tangled up in the hardware arms race. Investors still bicker over who pockets the big gains as top cloud players pour in cash, only to pivot and develop their own gear. Then there’s the rates angle—every inflation report is a fresh trigger for long-duration tech to whipsaw.
D.A. Davidson initiated coverage on Broadcom, AMD, Intel, and Taiwan Semiconductor, but handed out just one buy—TSMC. Analyst Gil Luria called Broadcom “a shrinking iceberg,” pointing to hyperscalers moving toward custom accelerators. He also flagged a risk: customers might pull more silicon design in-house, which could hit suppliers’ margins. Luria rated Broadcom Neutral, setting a $335 target. 1
SK hynix offered its own update on the AI supply chain: The company said SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan sat down together at Broadcom’s San Jose headquarters on Feb. 6, where the two discussed stepping up collaboration on HBM—high-bandwidth memory critical for AI accelerators. According to SK hynix, both sides talked about bringing memory integration forward into the early design phase for Broadcom’s next-gen AI chips and floated a “one-team” strategy. 2
Markets reacted to fresh macro numbers that landed early. According to the Labor Department, January’s consumer price index edged up 0.2%, putting the annual rate at 2.4%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, saw a 0.3% monthly gain and was 2.5% higher than a year ago. Traders are now looking ahead to February’s CPI data, due out March 11. 3
The headline came in lighter, but that didn’t settle things. Underlying inflation still picked up in January, Reuters noted, while the Federal Reserve held rates steady at 3.50%-3.75% last month. That combination can weigh on pricey chip and software stocks. 4
U.S. stocks started the session on a quiet note, with the Dow slipping 0.03% at the open. The S&P 500 edged up just 0.02%, while the Nasdaq headed lower by 0.16%, according to Reuters. 5
Broadcom shares took a hit Thursday, dropping 3.38% to finish at $331.17. The session started at $343.83, but the stock dipped to $329.56 before the closing bell, daily pricing data show. 6
Chip stocks were mixed. Shares of Applied Materials jumped, buoyed by a brighter second-quarter outlook on both sales and profit. CEO Gary Dickerson cited a “fueled by the acceleration of industry investments in AI computing” demand surge. 7
Bulls pin their hopes on Broadcom’s custom AI chips and networking gear tucked into data centers, plus the infrastructure software picked up with VMware. Bears see it differently: if just a handful of major customers tweak designs, pick other vendors, or tap the brakes on spending, the numbers can shift in a hurry.
Friday’s back-and-forth comes down to timing. Should cloud customers ramp up their move to internal accelerators and pressure suppliers for lower prices, Broadcom’s AI growth story could lose its aura of scarcity, making that premium tougher to justify — even if demand itself remains robust.
Broadcom is set to deliver its fiscal first-quarter numbers and business guidance on March 4, right after the closing bell. The company’s management will take questions during a call kicking off at 5 p.m. ET. 8
