Nvidia stock jumps as AI boom powers $200 billion revenue

Nvidia Corp. posted another set of blockbuster results on Wednesday, smashing Wall Street’s expectations as a frenzied build‑out of artificial intelligence infrastructure drove the world’s most valuable company past $200 billion in annual revenue and more than $100 billion in net income for the first time.

Nvidia shares rose about 3 per cent in after‑hours trading immediately after the release, adding to a 1.4 per cent gain at Wednesday’s close.

Nvidia revenues beat estimates

For the current quarter, Nvidia projected revenue of about $78 billion, far ahead of the $72.1 billion analysts had pencilled in, signalling no let‑up in demand as cloud providers and internet giants plough hundreds of billions of dollars into AI accelerators and data centres.

The outlook extended a streak of blowout guidance that has repeatedly forced Wall Street to ratchet up its forecasts.

In the fourth quarter to late January, revenue jumped 73 per cent from a year earlier to $68.1 billion, beating consensus estimates of $66.2 billion and topping the company’s own prior guidance of roughly $65 billion.

The performance was once again overwhelmingly driven by its data centre unit, which houses Nvidia’s AI chips and systems.

Nvidia data centre revenues jump

Data centre revenue climbed to $62.3 billion, above expectations of $60.5 billion, powered by continued adoption of its current‑generation Blackwell platform, introduced last year, and follow‑on demand for networking gear and software sold alongside the accelerators.

The figures reinforced Nvidia’s grip on the most lucrative corner of the semiconductor market as rivals scramble to catch up.

“Computing demand is growing exponentially . . . Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute,” chief executive Jensen Huang said, framing the results as part of a longer‑term transition toward AI‑driven data centres that he has described as “AI factories”.

The company’s results are watched closely as a barometer of the broader AI boom because its chips sit at the heart of the large models powering generative AI.

Nvidia shares rose about 3 per cent in after‑hours trading immediately after the release, adding to a 1.4 per cent gain at Wednesday’s close.

The tech‑heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the regular session up 1.3 per cent as investors positioned for the earnings, helping to steady markets after weeks of volatility tied to questions over how AI will disrupt traditional industries and whether Big Tech’s massive AI capex is sustainable.

The latest quarter’s beat and stronger‑than‑expected guidance are likely to reassure investors that, for now, spending on AI infrastructure remains on a steep upward trajectory, even as debate intensifies over when — and where — the profits from those investments will fully materialise.