Nvidia Earnings: Company Posts Record Quarter as Data Center Boom Drives Revenue Surge
NVIDIA released fourth-quarter and full-year results showing a sharp acceleration in revenue tied to demand for AI infrastructure, and the firm's latest disclosure on capital returns and deals has intensified market attention. The nvidia earnings update matters now because it combines record top-line growth with large shareholder payouts and an evolving partnership landscape that is already affecting investor sentiment.
Nvidia Earnings: Record Quarter and Fiscal 2026 Totals
The company reported record revenue for the quarter ended January 25, 2026, of $68. 1 billion, up 20% from the prior quarter and up 73% from a year earlier; another published tally put the quarter at $68. 13 billion. For fiscal 2026, revenue reached $215. 9 billion, a 65% increase from the prior year. The firm posted a fiscal-year profit figure of $120 billion.
Data Center Revenue Climbs to $62. 3bn
NVIDIA’s data center business, which supplies chips and systems for AI computing, expanded 75% year-over-year to $62. 3 billion in the quarter and accounted for the vast majority of the company’s revenue. Executives linked that surge directly to strong enterprise investment in AI compute: "Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute — the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth, " CEO Jensen Huang said.
Margins, Earnings Per Share and Analyst Expectations
For the quarter, GAAP gross margin was 75. 0% and non-GAAP gross margin was 75. 2%; for fiscal 2026, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were 71. 1% and 71. 3%, respectively. Quarterly GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1. 76, with non-GAAP EPS at $1. 62; the non-GAAP EPS beat an analyst estimate of $1. 53. One published summary cited $1. 62 per share and noted analysts had forecast $1. 53. Across the fiscal year, GAAP EPS was $4. 90 and non-GAAP EPS was $4. 77.
Shareholder Returns, Dividend and Repurchase Authorization
During fiscal 2026, the company returned $41. 1 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and cash dividends, and it has $58. 5 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization. NVIDIA will pay a quarterly cash dividend of $0. 01 per share on April 1, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.
OpenAI Investment, Market Reaction and Investor Scrutiny
Market attention has also centered on the company’s relationship with OpenAI. A proposed $100 billion investment into OpenAI fell through earlier this month; instead, NVIDIA will invest $30 billion into OpenAI as that company seeks to go public later this year at an expected valuation of around $730 billion. Jensen Huang said on the earnings call that NVIDIA continues to work toward a partnership agreement with OpenAI and believes it is close. The circular nature of large deals—where NVIDIA invests in AI firms that subsequently purchase its chips—has attracted increased scrutiny from some analysts about the industry’s footing.
Investors had shown some skepticism across the market, with share prices for several leading tech firms starting the year in decline. NVIDIA’s growth acted as a partial reassurance: shares rallied ahead of the earnings release and rose roughly 3% in after-hours trading immediately following the report before those gains narrowed to less than 1% as the day progressed.
Accounting Changes, Tax Outlook and Investor Briefings
Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company will include stock-based compensation expense in its non-GAAP financial measures, noting that stock-based compensation is a foundational component of its program to attract and retain talent. The reconciliations provided for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 adjust GAAP financial measures to exclude stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related and other costs, and other gains or losses. 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.
The company scheduled a conference call with analysts and investors for 2 p. m. Pacific time (5 p. m. Eastern time) to discuss the fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results; a live webcast will be available on the company’s investor relations website and will be recorded and available for replay until the conference call to discuss fiscal first-quarter 2027 results. Colette Kress, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, has provided commentary on the quarter.
What makes this notable is the combination of outsized data center growth—$62. 3 billion and 75% year-over-year expansion—and concurrent large-scale capital returns of $41. 1 billion, which together help explain why the company continues to beat elevated market expectations and remain central to debates about the sustainability of AI-driven spending.
Executives maintained a bullish public stance on AI’s broader impact. Huang has repeatedly pushed back on concerns that AI will simply displace workers, framing the technology as a job creator and productivity booster at global forums, and summed up the company’s position on the call: "In this new world of AI, compute equals revenues. " Other recent market turbulence included a week in which a piece of speculative research material led to a market downturn and panic.
