EARNINGS REVIEW
Broadcom FY21 Q4 earnings report
Historical earnings report · Management guidance reflects expectations at the time of the release, not subsequent outcomes. The financial comparison uses the site’s normalized dataset, including comparative figures restated in later filings.
Enterprise recovery and cloud investment supported growth.
Assessment · Enterprise recovery and cloud investment supported growth. Reading consolidated margins alongside FCF separates business scale from cash realization. The next assessment depends on the business-specific checks set out below.
01 Business performance and growth drivers
Semiconductor solutions generated 5.634 B$ and infrastructure software 1.773 B$. Together they form consolidated revenue; software must not be relabeled as AI-semiconductor revenue.
This is the first quarter in the current cumulative table. The absence of a preceding-quarter row does not mean revenue or profit was zero. Segment year-over-year comparisons use the contemporaneous release; historical segments have not been retrospectively recast as later AI/data-center categories.
02 Profit quality and margins
Adjusted EBITDA excludes items including acquired-intangible amortization, stock compensation and restructuring; it is not GAAP operating or net profit. Use both bases when assessing the profitability of acquisition-expanded sales.
On consolidated revenue of 7.407 B$, operating margin was 34.8% and net margin 26.9%. Net profit differed from operating profit by -0.592 B$, reflecting non-operating items, taxes and related effects. This difference cannot by itself be attributed to product demand or operating competitiveness.
03 Cash flow and financial capacity
Quarterly operating cash flow of 3.541 B$ less capital expenditure of 0.088 B$ gives common-basis FCF of 3.453 B$. Ending cash and cash equivalents were 12.163 B$, versus total liabilities of 50.581 B$. Liabilities are not equivalent to borrowings; cash excludes separately reported short-term investments.
Common-basis FCF was 46.6% of revenue. Both operating cash flow and capital expenditure refer to this quarter, not annual or trailing-twelve-month periods. Working-capital movements and non-cash adjustments mean operating cash flow need not equal net profit.
04 Management commentary and contemporaneous guidance
Hock Tan highlighted recovering enterprise demand and sustained cloud/service-provider strength.
Next-quarter revenue guidance was approximately 7.60 B$; adjusted-EBITDA margin guidance was approximately 61.5%. These were contemporaneous forecasts, not GAAP net-income guidance.
05 Risks and next checks
Check the durability of enterprise normalization and software renewals; infrastructure demand is not all AI demand.
Quarterly results · CY-aligned presentation
| Metric · B$ | 2021 total of 1 included quarters | 3Q FY21 Q4 2021-10-31 | QoQ Δ | YoY Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 7.407 | 7.407 | — | — |
| Operating income | 2.581 | 2.581 | — | — |
| Operating margin (%) | 34.845 | 34.845 | — | — |
| Net income | 1.989 | 1.989 | — | — |
| FCF · company definition | 3.453 | 3.453 | — | — |
| Operating cash flow · total | 3.541 | 3.541 | — | — |
| Net cash CapEx · common | 0.088 | 0.088 | — | — |
| Cash CapEx · Chinese company definition | — | — | — | — |
| FCF · total calculation | 3.453 | 3.453 | — | — |
| Net cash · liquid assets less borrowings | −27.502 | −27.502 | — | — |
| Liquid assets · including short-term investments | 12.163 | 12.163 | — | — |
| Borrowings · interest-bearing debt | 39.665 | 39.665 | — | — |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 12.163 | 12.163 | — | — |
| Total liabilities · accounting liabilities | 50.581 | 50.581 | — | — |
CY denotes the calendar quarter with the greatest overlap with the fiscal period. If the first period has no start date, 89 days before its end is used only for calendar mapping. Financial values are not recalculated into calendar quarters. Incomplete years show totals of included quarters; cash, liabilities, borrowings and net cash use the last period-end balance. QoQ and YoY show absolute changes; margin changes are percentage points. Dashes indicate missing evidence or incomparable periods or definitions. Total liabilities never substitute for borrowings.
Definitions and evidence coverage
A dash means unavailable or undisclosed, not zero. Company-defined FCF may differ from total operating cash flow less common-basis CapEx. Total liabilities are accounting liabilities, not interest-bearing debt.
Management commentary summarizes the contemporaneous official earnings release; this report does not represent a full conference-call Q&A review.