AVGO Capital Return Hits $51 Bil in 10 Years

AVGO: Broadcom logo
AVGO
Broadcom

In the last decade, Broadcom (AVGO) has returned a notable $51 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.

As it turns out, AVGO has returned the 54th highest amount to shareholders in history.

  AVGO S&P Median
Dividends $0.0 $4.5 Bil
Share Repurchase $51 Bil $5.5 Bil
Total Returned $51 Bil $9.1 Bil
Total Returned as % of Current Market Cap 3.5% 25.9%

Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more companies like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.

Top 10 Companies By Total Shareholder Return

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  Total Money Returned As % Of Current Market Cap via Dividends via Share Repurchases
AAPL $847 Bil 23.8% $141 Bil $706 Bil
MSFT $364 Bil 9.7% $165 Bil $199 Bil
GOOGL $343 Bil 12.3% $12 Bil $331 Bil
XOM $212 Bil 43.8% $145 Bil $67 Bil
WFC $208 Bil 80.0% $59 Bil $150 Bil
META $178 Bil 9.6% $7.7 Bil $171 Bil
JPM $174 Bil 20.8% $0.0 $174 Bil
ORCL $163 Bil 25.9% $34 Bil $129 Bil
JNJ $157 Bil 36.5% $104 Bil $52 Bil
CVX $153 Bil 56.2% $97 Bil $55 Bil

For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking

What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Companies like META and MSFT are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.

That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for AVGO. (see Buy or Sell AVGO Stock for more details)

AVGO Fundamentals

  • Revenue Growth: 33.9% LTM and 24.1% last 3-year average.
  • Cash Generation: Nearly 39.8% free cash flow margin and 37.5% operating margin LTM.
  • Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for AVGO was 16.8%.
  • Valuation: AVGO trades at a P/E multiple of 110.2
  • Opportunity vs S&P: Compared to S&P, you get higher valuation, higher revenue growth, and better margins

  AVGO S&P Median
Sector Information Technology
Industry Semiconductors
PE Ratio 110.2 24.1

   
LTM* Revenue Growth 33.9% 5.1%
3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth 24.1% 5.3%
Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y 16.8% -0.1%

   
LTM* Operating Margin 37.5% 18.7%
3Y Average Operating Margin 38.8% 17.9%
LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin 39.8% 13.4%

*LTM: Last Twelve Months

That’s a good overview, but evaluating a stock from an investment perspective involves much more. That is exactly what Trefis High Quality Portfolio does. It is designed to reduce stock-specific risk while giving upside exposure.

AVGO Historical Risk

That said, AVGO isn’t immune to big drops. It fell nearly 48% during the Covid pandemic, about 35% in the 2021 inflation shock, and around 27% in the 2018 correction. Even with solid fundamentals, it’s clear the stock can take a serious hit when the market turns. Good companies still feel the pain when sentiment shifts sharply.

But the risk is not limited to major market crashes. Stocks fall even when markets are good – think events like earnings, business updates, and outlook changes. Read AVGO Dip Buyer Analyses to see how the stock has recovered from sharp dips in the past.

The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.