Broadcom delivers top figures in the first quarter. The chip and software specialist increased sales by 15 percent to 7.41 billion dollars. Earnings per share climbed to 7.81 dollars. Broadcom thus clearly exceeded analysts' estimates.

Even more, the dividend will be raised by almost 14 percent to 4.10 dollars per share. As a "bonus", the company plans to invest ten billion dollars in a share buyback program in the future.

"Broadcom ended the year with record fourth quarter results, driven by an upswing in the enterprise space and continued strong demand from cloud and service providers," CEO Hock Tan said in the release. "With the strength and breadth of our IP portfolio, we continue to be positioned to deliver leading, best-in-class semiconductor solutions and expand our leadership position in our franchise markets," the executive added.

Growth is expected to continue for in 2022. Management expects Q1 2022 revenue to reach $7.6 billion. Profitability is also expected to be tweaked. Management expects an adjusted EBITDA margin of 61.5 percent, while analysts have assumed the 60 percent.

Following the figures, analysts showered the group with praise. Analyst Vivek Arya of Bank of America called Broadcom arguably the most profitable chip company. The price target is 750 dollars. Bernstein sees potential for the share to 725 dollars.

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