Martin Bradstreet
Investor & Programmer, Former Poker Player
Marvell's ambitious long-range outlook is encouraging about hyperscaler and AI-lab spending plans, but hitting it depends on AI revenue and token consumption soaring through decade's end. Even if its FY28 estimates rise again, Marvell trades at a healthy premium to Nvidia and Broadcom, especially on a GAAP basis, and those two are growing fast too. x.comÂ
Marvell risks paying a peak-scarcity price for Lumentum if optical supply catches up by 2028-30. The proposed ~$99B deal values Lumentum at roughly 20x guided annualized revenue and 58x estimated after-tax operating income, while Lumentum, Coherent and Chinese suppliers are adding laser capacity. The DSP-and-laser combination has strategic logic, but durable scarcity economics and Nvidia's response remain uncertain. x.comÂ
Marvell expects its revenue to grow tenfold in five years to $80B, driven by custom chips it builds for hyperscalers. Those companies design their own chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia and cut the long-term cost of off-the-shelf parts. The custom segment had no revenue two years ago and is expected to bring in $30B by 2031. x.comÂ
Marvell is a loser from the AI-lab slowdown, because it can't earn premium margins if Nvidia and Broadcom also see a pause. Lab leaders including Elon Musk, Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have pivoted to warning that AI could kill you, which, with AI already polling badly, will make it much harder for AI to attract investment. x.comÂ
Broadcom trading at only a market multiple is odd, given that NVIDIA's concerns are driven by custom ASICs, the business Broadcom leads. Competition from Marvell and MediaTek partly explains it, along with memory eating into NVIDIA's margins and possible SMIC chip smuggling. x.comÂ
Marvell looks interesting at less than 30x calendar-2027 EPS against expected 60-70% annual EPS growth, but overpaying for Lumentum could drive its shares lower. Marvell could pay up to $110B, roughly a 30% premium; the stock-versus-debt mix is unclear, and Lumentum holders might own a third of the combined company. If the deal falls apart, Marvell could rise 10-12%. x.comÂ
Astera Labs looks relatively expensive because similarly fast-growing AI infrastructure names trade at much lower multiples. Broadcom and Nvidia are at 14x, Credo at 15x and Lumentum at 18x; comparable peers look 50-80% cheaper. Astera is a great company and not necessarily expensive in absolute terms. Its roughly 2x multiple over Credo may persist, but the setup looks harder; with no valuation support, it could fall 50% if weakness continues. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
Semiconductor trade faces a capex growth ceiling even if AI delivers what bulls expect. Spending cannot compound at 70-100% a year indefinitely, and compute per dollar roughly doubles every two years, so the same budget buys more capacity later. Today's chip valuations also demand years of 20% AI earnings growth beyond 2028: roughly 10.9 extra years for AMD, 8.9 for ASML, 7 for Marvell and 6.4 for TSMC, versus 1.6 for Broadcom and 0.8 for Nvidia; Micron needs none under the chart's assumptions. … Show more
The market may still be underestimating Marvell as it becomes a key supplier of custom silicon and connectivity for the AI build-out. At its Investor Day, Marvell put its addressable market at about $400 billion by 2030, targeted about $20B of FY28 revenue and said revenue could reach $70-90B by FY31. Last quarter revenue rose 37% to $2.74B on AI and data-center demand, and Nvidia's Jensen Huang reportedly called Marvell the next trillion-dollar company. x.com x.comÂ
Marvell's roughly $90 billion valuation jump on a single comment is not sustainable; the only question is how long it can last. Per The Kobeissi Letter, the stock rose over 45% in two days after NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said it could become the next trillion-dollar company. x.comÂ