Nvidia smashes forecasts as nvidia posts record quarter amid AI boom
nvidia reported a blockbuster quarter on Wednesday, posting record revenue of $68. 1 billion and sending shares higher in after-hours trading. The results underscore continued insatiable demand for the company’s AI chips and a rapid rise in data center sales.
Quarterly revenue and guidance
The fourth quarter ended January 25, 2026, produced $68. 1 billion in revenue, up 73 percent from a year ago and up 20 percent from the previous quarter. The figure exceeded the $65. 7 billion analysts had forecast. For the full fiscal year ending January 25, 2026, revenue was $215. 9 billion, up 65 percent from the prior year.
Nvidia data center surge
The company’s data center division, which sells the high‑powered chips used to train and run AI models, was once again the engine of growth. Data center revenue hit a record $62. 3 billion in the quarter, up 75 percent from a year earlier and up 22 percent from the prior quarter. For fiscal 2026, data center revenue reached $193. 7 billion, a 68 percent annual gain.
Profit, margins and EPS
Net income for the quarter more than doubled year‑on‑year to $42. 96 billion. For the quarter, GAAP and non‑GAAP gross margins were 75. 0% and 75. 2%, respectively. For fiscal 2026, GAAP and non‑GAAP gross margins were 71. 1% and 71. 3%, respectively. GAAP and non‑GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $1. 76 and $1. 62, respectively; for fiscal 2026, GAAP and non‑GAAP earnings per diluted share were $4. 90 and $4. 77, respectively.
Shareholder returns and buybacks
During fiscal 2026, the company returned $41. 1 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and cash dividends. As of the end of the fourth quarter, the company had $58. 5 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization. The company will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0. 01 per share on April 1, 2026, to all shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.
CEO commentary and agentic AI
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, described an industry inflection around agentic AI. He said, "We have now seen the inflection of agentic AI and the usefulness of agents across the world, " adding that enterprises everywhere were seeing "incredible" demand because of it. He also said, "What used to be software running on computers has now gone into AI, " and added, "and that translates directly to growth, and that translates directly to revenues. " In another statement he said, "Computing demand is growing exponentially — the agentic AI inflection point has arrived. Grace Blackwell with NVLink is the king of inference today — delivering an order-of-magnitude lower cost per token — and Vera Rubin will extend that leadership even further. " He added, "Enterprise adoption of agents is skyrocketing. Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute — the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth. "
Market reaction and company position
The earnings release sent shares surging five percent in after‑hours trading. The Santa Clara, California‑based company, founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang who remains CEO, designs the graphics processing units (GPUs) that have become the backbone of the global artificial intelligence boom. It commands a market capitalization exceeding $4. 7 trillion, making it the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
China outlook and export controls
it is not assuming any data center computing revenue from China in its outlook, acknowledging the ongoing impact of U. S. export controls on its ability to sell advanced chips to the world's second‑largest economy. NVIDIA’s chief financial officer Colette Kress told analysts, "we have yet to generate any revenue, and we do not know whether any imports will be allowed into China. " The statement noted that even if the U. S. government has greenlit exports of "small amounts" of lower‑powered chips to China, the company has not generated revenue from such shipments.
Conference call and non-GAAP practices
The company scheduled a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 results today at 2 p. m. Pacific time (5 p. m. Eastern time). CFO commentary by Colette Kress is available on the company’s investor materials. The company uses non‑GAAP measures to supplement GAAP financial statements; the reconciliations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 adjust the related GAAP financial measures to exclude stock‑based compensation expense, acquisition‑related and other costs, other, gains/losses fr — unclear in the provided context. Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company will include stock‑based compensation expense in non‑GAAP financial measures, and it described stock‑based compensation as a foundational component of its compensation program to attract and retain talent. For the full year fiscal 2027, GAAP and non‑GAAP tax rates are expected to be between 17. 0% and 19. 0%, excluding any discrete items and material changes to the company’s tax environment.
Combined capital expenditure from the four major AI builders — Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft — could approach $700 billion this year, and a large share of that spending lands at the firm as it remains the dominant supplier of AI chips and the technology used to train and deliver generative AI capability. The company pointed to rapid adoption of AI coding and productivity tools, including Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's Codex, as evidence that AI is delivering tangible returns for customers and cloud providers. The company warned that the traditional software industry is being transformed by this adoption, a trend that has put pressure on enterprise software shares in recent sessions on Wall Street.
Closing: The company delivered record quarterly and fiscal revenue, sizable profit and margin gains, returned substantial capital to shareholders, flagged China export uncertainty and set out changes to non‑GAAP reporting as it frames an ongoing shift toward agentic AI.
