Nvidia Surpasses Q4 Earnings Expectations, Anticipates Strong Growth Amid AI Demand Surge

Nvidia exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for Q4 earnings and sales, with reported earnings per share at $5.16 (adjusted) versus the expected $4.64 and revenue of $22.10 billion compared to the estimated $20.62 billion. The company anticipates sales of $24.0 billion in the current quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion in sales and $5.00 per share. Nvidia’s shares increased by approximately 10% in extended trading.

The surge in demand for large artificial intelligence models has positioned Nvidia as a primary beneficiary, driven by the use of its graphics processors for server applications. CEO Jensen Huang addressed concerns about sustaining this growth, expressing confidence in continued expansion throughout 2025 and beyond. He cited persistent high demand for GPUs, fueled by generative AI and a broader industry shift toward accelerators over central processors.

Nvidia’s net income for the quarter reached $12.29 billion, or $4.93 per share, marking a substantial 769% increase from the previous year’s $1.41 billion or 57 cents per share. The company’s total revenue surged by 265% YoY, attributed to robust sales of AI chips, notably the “Hopper” chips such as the H100, driven by demand from various sectors, including enterprise software, consumer internet applications, automotive, financial services, and healthcare.

– NVIDIA reported Q4 revenue of $22.10 billion, exceeding the estimated $20.41 billion, with substantial growth in various segments.

– Data center revenue reached $18.4 billion, a 27% increase from the previous quarter and a remarkable 409% YoY increase.

– Gaming revenue was $2.9 billion, showing a 58% YoY growth, and professional visualization revenue reached $463 million, up 11% from the previous quarter.

– Automotive revenue was $281 million, down 4.4% YoY, but the full-year revenue rose by 21% to $1.1 billion.

– Adjusted gross margin was 76.7%, surpassing the estimated 75.4%, and R&D expenses increased by 26% to $2.47 billion.

– Adjusted operating income stood at $14.75 billion, compared to $2.22 billion YoY, beating the estimated $13.14 billion.

– Free cash flow was $11.22 billion, exceeding the estimated $10.82 billion.

– The outlook for Q1 2025 forecasts revenue at $24.0 billion, with strong gross margins and operating expenses.

– Data center achievements include collaborations with Google and Amazon, the launch of NeMo Retriever, and partnerships with Amgen, Singtel, and Cisco.

– Gaming highlights include the launch of GeForce RTX 40 SUPER Series GPUs and milestones with over 500 AI-powered RTX games.

– Professional Visualization saw revenue of $463 million, with Omniverse adoption and the introduction of the RTX 2000 Ada Generation GPU.

– Automotive revenue, though down YoY, saw increased adoption of the NVIDIA DRIVE platform with companies like Great Wall Motors, ZEEKR, and Xiaomi.

NVIDIA has not obtained licenses to export restricted chips like A800 and H800 to China, as per the filing. The company anticipates that China data center revenue will remain consistent. Additionally, NVIDIA mentions a high demand surpassing the supply for next-gen products.

Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, mentioned that the company is providing samples of its new AI chips for the Chinese market amid U.S. export restrictions. The chips comply with regulations without a license, and Huang is eager for customer feedback to compete successfully in the market. The specifics of the chips and customers were not disclosed.

NVIDIA shortsellers face a $2.15 billion premarket mark-to-market loss. Cumulatively, they are now down $6.84 billion in year-to-date mark-to-market losses, according to S3 Partners data.

Nvidia’s annual revenue:

2024: $60.9 billion
2023: $26.9 billion
2022: $26.9 billion
2021: $16.7 billion
2020: $10.9 billion
2019: $11.7 billion
2018: $9.7 billion
2017: $6.9 billion
2016: $5.0 billion
2015: $4.6 billion
2014: $4.1 billion
2013: $4.3 billion
2012: $3.9 billion