Nvidia beats forecasts, posts record revenue of $46.7 billion
The chipmaker's results are considered the main indicator of the artificial intelligence sector.
WashingtonThe American chip manufacturer Nvidia reported revenues of $46.743 billion (€40.132 billion) in the second quarter, up 6% compared to the first three months of the year and 55.6% more than the same period last year, the company reported in a statement on Wednesday. The results slightly exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who anticipated a figure of around $46.1 billion.
All eyes were on the technology company's results on Wednesday, which for several months now have been interpreted as a barometer of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and also of the impact of the trade war between the United States and China.
After the company anticipated multi-million dollar losses due to the US government's ban on chip sales in China, Nvidia reached an agreement with the White House earlier this month to continue exporting to Beijing in exchange for delivering 15% of its AI chip sales. Despite the about-turn, the Chinese government has ended up discouraging its companies from purchasing the chip, known as the H20. Nvidia had recently halted production. Despite the turbulence experienced amid the trade war between the two giants, the impact was expected to be minimal, as demand for Nvidia's AI chips continues to outstrip supply by a wide margin.
Nvidia has also announced a massive buyback program, valued at around $60 billion (€51.565 billion). Last quarter, the company already invested nearly $15 billion in shareholder compensation through dividends and buybacks.
A global thermometer
Nvidia is one of the leading manufacturers of GPUs (graphics processing units), devices originally created to process graphics for computers or video games with a massive capacity to perform simple mathematical operations in parallel, a key element in training today's artificial intelligence models, which are in the midst of a battle.
Last quarter, when the Trump administration's ban was announced, Nvidia's revenue from China was around $5.5 billion, about 13% of the total. Before the stock market closed and the results were known, investors expected a 6.2% swing in Nvidia's shares after it presents the results, according to data from Option Research & Technology Services.
On Wednesday morning, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ruled out the possibility of the White House acquiring a stake in the company, as has happened with the purchase of 10% of Intel shares.
"I don't think Nvidia needs financial support, so it doesn't seem like this is on the table right now," Bessent said in statements to the Fox Business channel, where he defended the agreement with Intel and opened the door to similar operations with companies in other critical sectors, such as shipbuilding.