Broadcom vs NEC: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Broadcom reported $63.9B of revenue in FY2025 and $23.1B of net income. NEC reported ~$24B of revenue in FY2026 and ~$1.8B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Broadcom
Fiscal 2025 revenue rose 24% to $63.9 billion and net income reached $23.1 billion, up from $5.9 billion in fiscal 2024, when a large income tax charge weighed on results. Operating income was $25.5 billion and free cash flow $26.9 billion, of which $11.1 billion went to dividends and $6.4 billion to buybacks. Fiscal 2026 then accelerated: quarterly revenue went from $19.3 billion in Q1 to $22.2 billion in Q2 and $29.6 billion in Q3, with Q4 guided at about $34.8 billion. Long-term debt taken on for VMware fell to $57.2 billion at 2 August 2026 from $62.0 billion at the end of fiscal 2025, and the quarterly dividend is $0.65 a share after a 10% increase.
NEC
NEC's numbers show a company trading revenue for margin. Revenue moved from ~$20.2 billion (3,014.1 billion yen) in FY22/3 to ~$24 billion (3,582.7 billion yen) in FY26/3, but the bigger change was profitability: FY26/3 adjusted operating profit reached ~$2.59 billion (386.8 billion yen) (10.8% margin, up 2.4 points), net profit attributable to owners was ~$1.81 billion (270.2 billion yen), and non-GAAP net profit was ~$1.87 billion (279.8 billion yen), a record under IFRS. Momentum carried into FY27/3: first-quarter revenue rose 14.5% to ~$5.49 billion (819.8 billion yen), net profit was ~$333 million (49.7 billion yen), and NEC raised full-year guidance to ~$23.7 billion (3,540 billion yen) revenue and ~$2.88 billion (430 billion yen) adjusted operating profit.
Revenue and profit by year
Broadcom
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $63.9B | $23.1B | 36.2% | +23.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $51.6B | $5.9B | 11.4% | +44.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $35.8B | $14.1B | 39.3% | +7.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $33.2B | $11.5B | 34.6% | +21.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $27.4B | $6.7B | 24.5% | +14.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $23.9B | $3B | 12.4% | +5.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $22.6B | $2.7B | 12.1% | +8.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | $20.8B | $12.3B | 58.8% | +18.2% | Source |
| FY2017 | $17.6B | $1.7B | 9.6% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Broadcom
- Semiconductor Solutions
~58% (FY2025); 70% in Q3 FY2026
Custom AI accelerators, Ethernet switch chips, network adapters, optics, broadband, storage connectivity, wireless and RF filters generated $36.9B in fiscal 2025 and $20.8B in Q3 fiscal 2026 alone, up 127% year over year.
- Infrastructure Software
~42% (FY2025); 30% in Q3 FY2026
VMware Cloud Foundation plus CA mainframe and Symantec security software generated $27.0B in fiscal 2025 and $8.8B in Q3 fiscal 2026, up 29%.
- AI Semiconductor Revenue
56% of revenue in Q3 FY2026
AI semiconductor revenue, a subset of Semiconductor Solutions, was about $20B in fiscal 2025 and $16.7B in Q3 fiscal 2026, with $21.7B guided for Q4.
NEC
- IT Services70.0%
FY26/3 revenue was ~$16.8 billion (2,508.9 billion yen), including Domestic IT and International digital government/digital finance work.
- Social Infrastructure26.1%
FY26/3 revenue was ~$6.27 billion (935.3 billion yen), including telecom services and aerospace/national security systems.
- Others3.9%
FY26/3 other revenue was ~$928 million (138.5 billion yen).
Business model and strategy
Broadcom
How it makes money
Broadcom reports two segments. Semiconductor Solutions sold $36.9 billion of chips in fiscal 2025: custom AI accelerators (XPUs) designed with hyperscale customers, Tomahawk and Jericho Ethernet switch chips, network adapters, optical components, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, RF filters for smartphones, broadband gateway chips and storage connectivity.
Growth strategy
Broadcom's growth plan has two engines. In chips, it co-designs custom accelerators with a short list of customers, including Google's TPU, Meta's MTIA, OpenAI and Anthropic, and sells the Ethernet switches, network adapters and optics that connect them. In software, it is moving VMware's installed base onto VMware Cloud Foundation subscriptions;
Competitive advantage
Broadcom's edge is engineering depth in a few hard problems where customers rarely switch once a design is chosen: high-speed SerDes, switch silicon, advanced packaging and custom ASIC design. Its Tomahawk 6 switch chip, announced in June 2025, handles 102.4 terabits per second. In software, VMware is built into enterprise data centers, which makes migrations slow and costly.
NEC
How it makes money
NEC makes money by selling technology projects and recurring services to governments, enterprises and telecom carriers. In FY26/3 (year ended March 31, 2026), IT Services produced ~$16.8 billion (2,508.9 billion yen), about 70% of revenue: system integration, managed services and the BluStellar DX offering in Japan, plus digital government and digital finance software abroad through subsidiaries such as Avaloq, KMD a…
Growth strategy
Under its 2025 Mid-term Management Plan, which NEC says it achieved in FY26/3, the company prioritized digital government and digital finance, 5G, and core DX (now branded BluStellar) as growth businesses while monitoring and pruning low-profit work.
Competitive advantage
NEC's edge comes from decades of trusted delivery to Japanese ministries, municipalities, the Ministry of Defense and NTT-group carriers, which makes it hard to displace on security-sensitive systems. Its face and fingerprint algorithms have repeatedly placed at or near the top of US NIST benchmark tests, which supports border-control and airport contracts abroad.
Questions about Broadcom vs NEC
Which company has higher revenue — Broadcom Inc. or NEC Corporation?
Broadcom Inc. reported $63.9B (FY2025), while NEC Corporation reported ~$24B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Broadcom Inc. is the larger business, with NEC Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Broadcom Inc. vs NEC Corporation?
Broadcom Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $1.68T, while NEC Corporation's is $40.2B. Broadcom Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to NEC Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — Broadcom Inc. or NEC Corporation?
Broadcom Inc. generates $1.94M / employee in revenue per employee, while NEC Corporation generates $236k / employee. Broadcom Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Broadcom Inc. and NEC Corporation make money?
Broadcom Inc. and NEC Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Broadcom Inc.: Broadcom reports two segments. NEC Corporation: NEC makes money by selling technology projects and recurring services to governments, enterprises and telecom carriers.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Broadcom Inc. or NEC Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Broadcom Inc. trades at 26.3x P/S and NEC Corporation at 1.7x P/S. Broadcom Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to NEC Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Broadcom Inc. bigger than NEC Corporation?
By last reported revenue, Broadcom Inc. ($63.9B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to NEC Corporation (~$24B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Broadcom vs NEC overview