Nvidia shatters sales record as AI frenzy powers growth

WEB DESK: Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chip company, has once again rewritten its own playbook, reporting record-breaking earnings that highlight just how strong demand for artificial intelligence has become.

The California-based chipmaker said on Wednesday that its revenue for the May-July quarter reached $46.74 billion, up 56 percent compared with the same period last year. Profit came in at $26.42 billion, a surge of 59 percent year-on-year.

These numbers were closely watched by investors, as Nvidia has become a symbol of the global AI boom that has fuelled stock markets to repeated highs. Yet, despite the blockbuster results, the company’s shares slipped more than 3 percent in after-hours trading, reflecting the sky-high expectations that now surround the chipmaker, which carries a market value of over $4.4 trillion.

The AI race

Chief executive Jensen Huang struck an upbeat tone, saying that production of Blackwell Ultra, Nvidia’s newest platform built on its most advanced chips, was running at “full speed”. He described demand as “extraordinary” and declared, “The AI race is on, and Blackwell is the platform at its centre.”

Looking ahead, Nvidia expects revenue of $54 billion, give or take 2 percent, for the July-September quarter, slightly ahead of Wall Street forecasts.

But the outlook is not without challenges. Nvidia’s latest sales did not include shipments to China, due to US export restrictions aimed at curbing Beijing’s AI ambitions.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump’s administration lifted a ban on sales of Nvidia’s H20 chip, designed specifically for China, after intense lobbying by Huang. Still, Beijing has recently urged local firms to avoid doing business with Nvidia, clouding its prospects in the world’s second-largest economy.

Boom or bubble?

Nvidia’s meteoric rise has been one of the defining stories of global markets. Since early 2023, its shares have multiplied more than eleven times, with the stock already up over 30 percent this year. The company also logged five straight quarters of triple-digit revenue growth between mid-2023 and 2024, driven by surging demand from tech giants like Microsoft, Meta and Amazon.

Yet, the rapid climb has also sparked debate. OpenAI chief Sam Altman recently warned that investors may be “overexcited” about AI’s potential, raising the question of whether the current boom could turn into a bubble.

For now, though, Nvidia shows no signs of slowing down. As one market newsletter put it: “The AI revolution is in full swing, and Jensen Huang is working overtime to keep Nvidia at the front of the race.”