Nvidia’s Performance Surge: Record $68.1B Quarter and $215.9B Fiscal Year Recast Financial Benchmarks
Why this matters now: nvidia’s results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 push several hard financial markers higher — record quarterly revenue, fiscal-year revenue that jumped substantially year-over-year, and a sizable return of cash to shareholders — while the company prepares an accounting change that will alter how non-GAAP results are presented. These moves change comparability and the immediate financial picture for investors and corporate planners.
Nvidia momentum and the new performance baseline
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) posted record revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 25, 2026, of $68. 1 billion, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 20% and a year-over-year rise of 73%. For fiscal 2026 as a whole, revenue totaled $215. 9 billion, up 65% from the prior year. These figures establish a new scale for the company’s short-term performance metrics and create a different base for measuring future growth and margin trends.
Financial highlights: margins, earnings per share and scale
- Quarter gross margins: GAAP 75. 0%, non-GAAP 75. 2%.
- Fiscal 2026 gross margins: GAAP 71. 1%, non-GAAP 71. 3%.
- Quarter diluted earnings per share: GAAP $1. 76, non-GAAP $1. 62.
- Fiscal 2026 diluted earnings per share: GAAP $4. 90, non-GAAP $4. 77.
Here's the part that matters for treasuries and modelers: margins and EPS show both quarter and full-year distinctions between GAAP and non-GAAP lines, and those differences will be altered by an accounting policy change starting in fiscal 2027 (described below).
Capital returns, dividend timing and remaining 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. NVIDIA will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0. 01 per share on April 1, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.
Micro Q&A
Q: How much cash was returned to shareholders this fiscal year? $41. 1 billion was returned repurchases and dividends.
Q: Is there remaining buyback capacity? Yes—$58. 5 billion remained under the repurchase authorization at the quarter end.
Accounting policy change and fiscal 2027 outlook
Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, NVIDIA will include stock-based compensation expense in non-GAAP financial measures. The company describes stock-based compensation as a foundational component of its compensation program to attract and retain world-class talent. NVIDIA’s outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 is provided by the company; specifics are unclear in the provided context.
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 NVIDIA’s tax environment.
Investor access, commentary and disclosures
CFO commentary on the quarter by Colette Kress is available from the company’s investor materials (link withheld). NVIDIA will conduct 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). A live webcast in listen-only mode will be accessible on the company’s investor relations site; the webcast will be recorded and available for replay until the company’s conference call to discuss first-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results.
To supplement GAAP financials, the company uses a set of non-GAAP measures that 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 or earnings per diluted share, and free cash flow. Reconciliations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 adjust related GAAP measures to exclude stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related and other costs, and other gains/losses fr—unclear in the provided context.
Founder and CEO Jensen Huang framed the results around accelerating demand: he said computing demand is growing exponentially and called the agentic AI inflection point arrived. He cited Grace Blackwell with NVLink as “the king of inference today, ” delivering an order-of-magnitude lower cost per token, and said Vera Rubin will extend that leadership further. Huang also said enterprise adoption of agents is skyrocketing and customers are racing to invest in AI compute, which he described as the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth.
It’s easy to overlook that the accounting change will make direct non-GAAP comparisons with prior periods less straightforward; models and forecasts will need explicit adjustments to remain comparable.
Micro timeline
- Quarter ended January 25, 2026: reported $68. 1 billion revenue.
- Fiscal 2026: total revenue $215. 9 billion; $41. 1 billion returned to shareholders.
- April 1, 2026: next quarterly cash dividend of $0. 01 per share will be paid to shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.
The real question now is how quickly models and guidance will be re-benchmarked for the new non-GAAP presentation and for the larger revenue base NVIDIA has established this fiscal year.
