Shares in chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) jumped nearly 6% in pre-market trading on Thursday, after the chipmaker reported first quarter results that beat estimates and issued better-than-expected guidance.
In results released after the market close on Wednesday, Broadcom (AVGO) reported adjusted net revenue of $19.31bn (£14.45bn) for its first fiscal quarter, compared to estimates of $19.26bn.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.05 was also slightly ahead of expectations of $2.03.
The company said its AI revenue grew by 106% year-on-year to $8.4bn.
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Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom (AVGO), said that AI revenue came in above the company’s forecast and was “driven by robust demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking”.
“Our AI revenue growth is accelerating, and we expect AI semiconductor revenue to be $10.7bn in Q2,” he added.
Broadcom (AVGO) said it expected overall revenue to come in at approximately $22bn for the second quarter, which was also ahead of Wall Street’s estimate of $20.53bn.
In London, shares in Aviva (AV.L) dipped 1.4% on Thursday morning, despite a strong set of full-year results from the financial services company.
Aviva (AV.L) reported a 25% in jump in operating profit in 2025 to £2.2bn ($2.93bn), while operating EPS increased 17% to 56p.
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The company also declared a final dividend of 26.2p per share, taking its total for the year to 39.3p, up 10% on 2024. In addition, Aviva said it was launching a new share buyback worth £350m.
Amanda Blanc, group CEO of Aviva (AV.L), said: “We have achieved our 2026 financial targets one year early, highlighting the rapid and sustained progress we are making.”
Shares in FTSE 250-listed (^FTMC) media company ITV (ITV.L) rose nearly 2% on Thursday, following the release of its annual results.
Total group revenue for 2025 came in at £4.12bn, which was little changed on the previous year, while adjusted pre-tax profit of £448m which 5% lower than 2024.
Garry White, chief investment commentator at Charles Stanley, said: “ITV’s full‑year results paint a picture of a broadcaster working hard to stay upright as the media landscape buckles and twists around it.”
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“After a bruising year, the headline news is surprisingly upbeat: ITV managed to steer through a sharp advertising downturn and still beat market expectations.”
“This was largely thanks to record profits from ITV Studios, which continues to hold the group steady as linear TV stumbles,” he said.
In the results, ITV (ITV.L) said it remained in discussions with Sky regarding the possible sale of its media and entertainment business.
Shares in housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) ticked 3% in higher on Thursday morning, after its full-year figures showed some signs of recovery.
Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) reported 13% growth in revenue at £3.84bn, while adjusted operating profit increased 1% to £420.6m, though pre-tax profit declined 54.3% to £146.5m.
However, the housebuilder said it had entered 2026 with a slightly lower order book compared to the previous year following a period of uncertainty in the run-up to the autumn budget in the second half of 2025.
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The company said it expected its group adjusted operating margin for 2026 to be lower than 2025, reflecting softer pricing in its order book coming into the year, combined with low-single-digit build cost inflation. As a result, Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) said it expected adjusted operating profit for the year to be around £400.
Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, said: “2025 was a year of modest recovery for the company at the top line level, with revenues up 13% year-on-year, although this wasn’t fully reflected in profits, with the operating margin declining to just under 11%, and profit less than half the prior year – largely a result of exceptional items relating to fire safety costs.”
“Taylor Wimpey also gave guidance for 2026 in its January statement, and while today’s announcement only serves to reiterate that, it isn’t an easy read for investors looking for growth,” he said.
Back on the FTSE 100 (^FTSE), pest control company Rentokil Initial (RTO.L) was the biggest gainer on the blue-chip index on Thursday, with shares jumping 11% in early European trading.
Rentokil (RTO.L) also published its annual results on Thursday morning, reporting adjusted revenue of $6.91bn for 2025, up 3.8% year-on-year on a constant currency basis. Adjusted pre-tax profit grew 4.1% to $876m.
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Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil Initial, said: “2025 has been a year of encouraging progress with improving performance through the second half, after the strategic initiatives we implemented from Q1 2025.”
“North America delivered a quarter-on-quarter improvement in organic revenue growth and in the value of the contract portfolio.”
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