Nvidia Stock slips after record $215.9bn year and blockbuster quarter
nvidia stock fell even as the company announced record fiscal 2026 revenue of $215. 9 billion and fourth-quarter revenue of $68. 1 billion, with last-quarter sales up 73% year-on-year. The results highlight strong demand for AI compute but arrived amid investor scepticism about the scale of AI spending and concerns about the firm's complex dealmaking.
Quarter and fiscal results: $68. 1bn for the fourth quarter, fiscal 2026 at $215. 9bn
The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $68. 1 billion for the quarter ended January 25, 2026, up 20% from the prior quarter and up 73% from a year earlier. For fiscal 2026, revenue was $215. 9 billion, an increase of 65% from a year earlier. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins for the quarter were 75. 0% and 75. 2%; for fiscal 2026 those margins were 71. 1% and 71. 3%. GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $1. 76 and $1. 62, and for fiscal 2026 were $4. 90 and $4. 77.
Nvidia Stock reaction and investor scepticism
Despite beating forecasts and delivering rapid revenue growth, nvidia stock moved lower as some investors remained unconvinced. Skepticism centers on the large sums being spent on AI technology and scrutiny of the company's expanding web of deals. Critics have warned about the spectre of "circular financing" — investments by the company in other firms that could cloud perceptions of how robust underlying AI demand really is.
Gene Munster, manager partner at Deepwater Asset Management, said the AI infrastructure buildout was likely to continue and wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday: "AI is accelerating faster than people not using these tools can grasp. " The company is also the world's most valuable publicly traded company, with a stock market value of around $4. 8 trillion.
Shareholder returns, dividends and repurchases
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, it had $58. 5 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization. Management said it will pay the next quarterly cash dividend of $0. 01 per share on April 1, 2026, to all shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.
The company also said that beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 it will include stock-based compensation expense in non-GAAP financial measures and noted that stock-based compensation is a foundational component of its compensation program to attract and retain talent.
Management comments and technical leadership claims
Founder and CEO Jensen Huang said "Computing demand is growing exponentially" and that "our customers are racing to invest in AI compute - the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth. " In longer commentary he added that "the agentic AI inflection point has arrived, " and highlighted engineering names and platforms, saying "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. " Colette Kress, the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer, provided commentary on the quarter.
Geopolitics, China sales and product expansion
The company has been drawn into a geopolitical tug-of-war between the US and China. The administration recently began allowing the sale of the firm's H200 chips—described as the company's second-most advanced type—to Chinese customers under certain conditions, but a US Commerce Department official told lawmakers this week that none of those chips have yet been sold to Chinese customers. The company's outlook released on Wednesday did not include expectations about chip revenue in China.
Separately, the firm is expanding its product line. At the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas last month, Jensen Huang unveiled a new technology platform for self-driving cars and said the open-source AI model the company is calling "Alpamayo" will bring reasoning to autonomous vehicles.
Conference call, non-GAAP measures and reconciliation
The company scheduled a conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 financial results and prospects at 2 p. m. Pacific time (5 p. m. Eastern time). Management reiterated its use of non-GAAP measures to supplement GAAP financial statements and said reconciliations adjust GAAP figures to exclude items such as stock-based compensation and acquisition-related costs.
