Nvidia’s Fiscal 2026 Surge Rewrites the Scorecard — $215.9B Year, Q4 $68.1B

Mo. Basuony

Published: February 26, 2026 4:04 AM ET

Nvidia’s Fiscal 2026 Surge Rewrites the Scorecard — $215.9B Year, Q4 $68.1B

Why this matters now: nvidia’s scale and margins shift expectations for capital deployment and competitive positioning across enterprise AI and chip markets. The company closed fiscal 2026 with record revenue and strong profitability metrics that immediately affect shareholders, customers buying AI compute, and how the company will present future results.

Nvidia momentum and market implications

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) reported a quarter and full-year performance that sharpens its market momentum. The company described rapidly growing computing demand tied to an “agentic AI” inflection point and highlighted technologies and leaders it says are driving inference cost improvements. Here’s the part that matters: management pitched this growth as accelerating enterprise purchases of AI compute—an immediate driver for revenue and capital allocation decisions.

Quarter and fiscal results (high-level figures)

Key reported figures for the period supplied in the company release:

Fourth-quarter revenue: $68. 1 billion — up 20% from the prior quarter and up 73% year‑over‑year. The quarter ended January 25, 2026.
Fiscal 2026 revenue: $215. 9 billion — up 65% from a year ago.
Gross margins — Quarter: GAAP 75. 0%, non‑GAAP 75. 2%.
Gross margins — Fiscal 2026: GAAP 71. 1%, non‑GAAP 71. 3%.
Earnings per diluted share — Quarter: GAAP $1. 76, non‑GAAP $1. 62.
Earnings per diluted share — Fiscal 2026: GAAP $4. 90, non‑GAAP $4. 77.

Shareholder returns, dividend timing and buyback capacity

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 next quarterly cash dividend is set at $0. 01 per share, payable April 1, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.

Accounting change, tax outlook and non-GAAP notes

Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company will include stock‑based compensation expense in non‑GAAP financial measures. The release states stock‑based compensation is a foundational component of the company’s compensation program to attract and retain world‑class talent. For the full year fiscal 2027, GAAP and non‑GAAP tax rates are expected to be between 17. 0% and 19. 0%, excluding discrete items and material changes to the company’s tax environment.

Non‑GAAP measures used in the release include 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. The reconciliation commentary notes adjustments to exclude stock‑based compensation expense, acquisition‑related and other costs, and other gains/losses; the text supplied was truncated in the provided context.

Conference call, CFO commentary and replay details

The company scheduled a conference call with analysts and investors today at 2 p. m. Pacific time (5 p. m. Eastern time). A listen‑only live webcast will be accessible on the company’s investor relations site; the webcast will be recorded and available for replay until the conference call to discuss the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Commentary on the quarter by Colette Kress, executive vice president and chief financial officer, is noted as provided in the release (details not reproduced here).

Q1 FY2027 outlook text in the provided context is introduced but the numeric outlook details are unclear in the provided context.

Key takeaways:

Record scale: $68. 1B in Q4 and $215. 9B for fiscal 2026 tighten the company’s financial leverage and buyback capacity.
Profitability is high: quarter GAAP gross margin at 75. 0% and fiscal GAAP margin at 71. 1% reflect sustained margin strength.
Shareholder distributions remain active: $41. 1B returned during fiscal 2026 and $58. 5B of repurchase authority still available.
Accounting change: inclusion of stock‑based compensation in non‑GAAP measures from Q1 FY2027 will alter comparability with prior non‑GAAP figures.

Micro timeline (dates called out in the release):

Quarter end: January 25, 2026.
Dividend record date: March 11, 2026.
Dividend payment date: April 1, 2026.

It’s easy to overlook, but the planned inclusion of stock‑based compensation in non‑GAAP measures changes how investors will compare forward non‑GAAP margins with past numbers — that adjustment is explicitly documented in the company’s reconciliations.

The company’s senior leadership framed the performance as tied to rapidly expanding demand for AI compute. Management singled out the arrival of an agentic AI inflection point, credited Grace Blackwell with NVLink as a leading inference solution that lowers cost per token by an order of magnitude, and named Vera Rubin as a follow‑on product that will extend that leadership. Management also emphasized that enterprise adoption of agents is skyrocketing and that customers are racing to invest in AI compute described as the factories powering an AI industrial revolution and future growth.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up: the combination of large top‑line growth, very high margins, active shareholder returns and the announced accounting change together reshape how future performance will be read and compared.