When traders talk about the AI trade, the conversation usually starts and ends with Nvidia. But the picks-and-shovels story runs deeper than GPUs. Two companies, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) and Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), design the custom accelerators and high-speed networking that stitch hyperscale AI clusters together. Both have turned the data-center buildout into record revenue, and both are now tradable as perpetual contracts on ApeX Omni with up to 50x leverage. Here's what each company does, where the numbers stand as of mid-2026, and the narrative a trader needs to know.
The custom-silicon trade, in one sentence
Nvidia sells general-purpose GPUs to everyone. Broadcom and Marvell do something different: they co-design custom chips (often called XPUs, or application-specific accelerators) for a single hyperscaler's workload, and they sell the networking silicon that moves data between thousands of those chips. When Google, Meta, or OpenAI wants its own in-house accelerator instead of renting Nvidia's, it calls a custom-silicon house. That is the business both of these stocks are levered to, just at very different scales.
Broadcom (AVGO): the custom-AI-silicon heavyweight
Broadcom is a global semiconductor and infrastructure-software giant. Its chip portfolio spans networking, broadband, wireless, and storage, and its software arm (anchored by the VMware acquisition) sells enterprise infrastructure tools. In fiscal 2025 (ended November 2, 2025), Broadcom posted total net revenue of $63.9 billion, up 24% year over year, split roughly 58% semiconductors and 42% software (SEC 10-K).
The story driving the stock, though, is AI. Broadcom's AI portfolio includes custom XPUs plus Ethernet switching and routing silicon, network interface cards, PHYs, and optical components, sold to "hyperscalers and companies with AI frontier models" (SEC 10-K). That segment is now the engine of the whole company.
In Q2 fiscal 2026 (quarter ended May 3, 2026), Broadcom reported record revenue of $22.2 billion, up 48% year over year, beating its own guidance (press release). AI semiconductor revenue alone hit a record $10.8 billion, up 143% year over year and nearly half of total sales. As CEO Hock Tan put it on the call:
Q2 semiconductor revenue from AI of $10.8 billion grew 143% year-over-year, above our forecast, driven by increasing demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking.
Hock Tan, CEO, Broadcom (Q2 FY2026 earnings call)
The forward numbers are what make AVGO a momentum name. Broadcom guided Q3 fiscal 2026 to roughly $29.4 billion in total revenue (up 84%), with AI revenue growing more than 200% to $16.0 billion (press release). For the full year, management expects $56 billion in AI semiconductor revenue, and Tan has pointed to a fiscal 2027 figure in excess of $100 billion (earnings call). Underpinning that are multi-gigawatt commitments from four named customers: Google, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta. Broadcom hit a record high around the print (Motley Fool).
One trader's caveat: that $16.0 billion Q3 AI guide actually landed a few points below where sell-side consensus had crept, and the stock saw selling pressure on the print despite the headline beat. With a name priced for perfection, "beat-and-sell-off" is a recurring pattern worth modeling around earnings dates.
Marvell (MRVL): the faster-growing challenger
Marvell is the leaner, more concentrated bet. It builds data-infrastructure silicon: custom compute (its own XPU programs), electro-optics, Ethernet switching, and the storage and interconnect products that wire up modern data centers. It also retains a carrier business in 5G and networking, though that is no longer the growth story. The growth story is the data center, which made up 74% of revenue as of Marvell's fiscal Q4 2026 (Motley Fool).
Marvell's most recent print was a record. In Q1 fiscal 2027 (quarter ended early May 2026), net revenue came in at $2.418 billion, up 28% year over year and above the midpoint of guidance (SEC 8-K). The company guided Q2 fiscal 2027 to $2.700 billion plus or minus 5%, implying roughly 35% year-over-year growth.
What moved the stock was the outlook. CEO Matt Murphy told investors:
We are seeing exceptional AI-related bookings, and as a result, we are significantly raising Marvell's revenue outlook for both fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 compared with the guidance we provided last quarter.
Matt Murphy, CEO, Marvell (Q1 FY2027 results)
That acceleration rests on Marvell's custom XPU franchise, which is smaller and more concentrated than Broadcom's. As of fiscal 2025, two custom AI accelerator programs were in high-volume production, a third hyperscaler engagement was underway, and next-generation development had begun for its lead customer (Futurum Group). That handful of programs is both the bull case (huge growth per win) and the bear case (concentration risk if one slips).
The bull and bear narrative for traders
The two names rhyme but trade differently.
Broadcom is the scale play. Forty-eight percent growth on a $22 billion quarterly base is extraordinary for a company this size, and the multi-gigawatt customer commitments give multi-year visibility. The risk is expectations: when a stock is priced for $100 billion-plus AI revenue, even a strong guide can disappoint if it comes in below the whisper number, as Q3's AI guide did. AVGO is a "buy the franchise, respect the bar" name.
Marvell is the higher-beta play. It grows faster in percentage terms off a smaller base, and "significantly raising" full-year guidance is the kind of language that re-rates a stock. But the same concentration that powers the upside cuts the other way: with revenue leaning on a few XPU programs and one dominant data-center customer relationship, a single design loss or push-out hits harder than it would at diversified Broadcom. (Note: exact full-year dollar targets for Marvell's fiscal 2027 and 2028 were directionally raised but not pinned to a precise figure in the primary release, so treat round-number estimates with caution.)
For derivatives traders, the practical read is simple. Both stocks carry elevated implied volatility into earnings, both can gap double digits on guidance, and both move together on any AI-capex headline (a hyperscaler raising or cutting its data-center budget moves MRVL and AVGO in tandem). That correlation makes them natural instruments for directional AI bets and for pair trades between the heavyweight and the challenger.
Trading MRVL and AVGO on ApeX Omni
You don't need a brokerage account or the full share price to take a position in either name. On ApeX Omni, you can trade MRVL and AVGO as perpetual contracts with up to 50x leverage, going long or short without owning the underlying stock.
That flexibility is the point for active traders:
Go long Broadcom or Marvell ahead of an AI-capex catalyst, or short into an overbought print.
Trade both directions. Perps let you express a bearish view as easily as a bullish one, useful around the "beat-and-sell-off" earnings pattern.
Size with leverage. Up to 50x means a smaller margin commitment controls a larger position, amplifying gains on a correct call.
Beyond these names, the ApeX Omni lists RWA perpetuals on major U.S. equities and ETFs, including Nvidia, Tesla, Invesco QQQ, and SPDR S&P 500, with leverage of up to 50x.
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ETFs and indices: SPY (the S&P 500 ETF) and QQQ (the Nasdaq-100 ETF)
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Before trading, remember that perpetual futures are leveraged derivatives. While leverage can amplify gains, it can also accelerate losses. Understand margin requirements and liquidation risks, and only trade with capital you can afford to lose.
The takeaway
Marvell and Broadcom are the two cleanest public proxies for the custom-silicon layer of the AI buildout: Broadcom the diversified heavyweight with multi-year hyperscaler commitments, Marvell the faster-growing, more concentrated challenger. The numbers are real, recent, and record-setting, and the narrative is far from over. If you want to trade that narrative in either direction, MRVL and AVGO perpetuals are live on ApeX Omni with up to 50x leverage. Do your own research, manage your risk, and pick your spots.
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice. Do your own research and consult a licensed professional before investing.