Nvidia’s blowout quarter lifts markets briefly as futures wobble
Chip titan nvidia posted record fourth-quarter revenue and fiscal 2026 results, driving a sharp market reaction that left U. S. stock futures drifting lower as investors parsed what the AI-driven numbers mean for the broader market. The company’s revenue beats, expanding margins and a large shareholder return program landed at a moment when traders are sensitive to AI-related momentum and a packed economic calendar.
Nvidia Q4 revenue and fiscal 2026 totals
NVIDIA reported fourth-quarter revenue of $68. 1 billion for the period ended January 25, 2026, a 20% gain from the prior quarter and a 73% increase year-over-year. For fiscal 2026 the company recorded revenue of $215. 9 billion, up 65% from the previous year. 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%.
On the earnings per share front, GAAP and non-GAAP diluted EPS for the quarter were $1. 76 and $1. 62. For the full fiscal year, GAAP EPS was $4. 90 and non-GAAP EPS was $4. 77.
Shareholder returns, dividends and capital actions
During fiscal 2026 NVIDIA 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 board set the next quarterly cash dividend at $0. 01 per share, payable April 1, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.
Conference call, guidance mechanics and accounting change
NVIDIA scheduled a conference call with analysts and investors for today at 2 p. m. Pacific time (5 p. m. Eastern time) to discuss the fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 financial results and current prospects. A live webcast of the call will be available on the company’s investor relations site and the presentation will be recorded and available for replay until the next quarterly call.
it will begin including stock-based compensation expense in non-GAAP financial measures starting in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, noting that stock-based compensation is a foundational component of its compensation program to attract and retain talent. NVIDIA reiterated that it uses a range of non-GAAP measures — including non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP other income (expense), net, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share and free cash flow — and that reconciliations adjust related GAAP measures to exclude stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related and other costs and other gains or losses.
For the full year fiscal 2027 the company expects GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates to be between 17. 0% and 19. 0%, excluding discrete items and material changes to its tax environment. The company also noted that additional commentary from CFO Colette Kress is available on its investor relations channels.
Market reaction: futures, extended trading and sector moves
U. S. equity futures dipped after the release: contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0. 1%, while futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each fell about 0. 3%. Those moves followed a regular trading session in which the S&P 500 advanced, marking its second straight gain, and both the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow ended the day in the green.
In extended trading, NVIDIA shares initially jumped on the results before surrendering those gains. The company’s quarterly beat for profit and revenue helped to damp some earlier anxiety around an "AI scare trade. " Technology and software names led a daytime rebound, with Oracle and all of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" posting gains.
Wider market context: earnings calendar and political remarks
Investors are balancing the company’s results against an active economic calendar: weekly jobless claims are due Thursday and January’s producer price index is set for Friday. Additional quarterly reports slated for Thursday include Warner Bros. Discovery, Dell Technologies and CoreWeave.
Market attention to big tech costs has also been inflamed by remarks in the State of the Union from President Trump, who said he expects Big Tech to assume a larger electricity bill from data centers. Meanwhile, software peer Salesforce sank roughly 5% in the session and has fallen about 28% year-to-date in an AI-driven sell-off.
At the time the market note was compiled, some stories could not be loaded, leaving portions of the broader coverage temporarily unavailable.
What makes this notable is the convergence of record hardware-driven revenue and margin expansion at NVIDIA with a market sensitive to AI narratives and upcoming economic data; that combination has amplified swings in both regular and extended trading as investors recalibrate exposures to the AI trade.
