Nvda: nvda posts record revenue, stock stalls after $6B guide beat

NVIDIA reported record revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 25, 2026, and for fiscal 2026, but nvda shares moved lower in Thursday morning trading after the company guided the current quarter roughly $6 billion above consensus. The company also outlined margins, buybacks, a small dividend and an accounting change that will affect non-GAAP measures beginning in fiscal 2027.

Quarterly results and margins

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) said fourth-quarter revenue was $68. 1 billion, up 20% from the previous quarter and up 73% from a year ago. For fiscal 2026, revenue was $215. 9 billion, up 65% from a year ago. 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%, respectively.

Earnings, EPS and returns

For the quarter, GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1. 76 and $1. 62, respectively. For fiscal 2026, GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $4. 90 and $4. 77, respectively. During fiscal 2026, NVIDIA returned $41. 1 billion to shareholders in the form of shares repurchased 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 all shareholders of record on March 11, 2026.

Nvda guidance and market reaction

The company guided the current quarter roughly $6 billion above consensus estimates, but the stock was down in Thursday morning trading. Visible Alpha head of TMT research Melissa Otto and Laffer Tengler Investments CEO and CIO Nancy Tengler joined Opening Bid host Brian Sozzi to debate the reaction. Panelists debated whether mid-70% gross margins and strong fundamentals were already priced in, and what would spark a fresh catalyst.

One participant said they were surprised by the stock reaction given a current-quarter outlook about $6 billion ahead of consensus and noted that the $6 billion figure is comparable to what some companies generate in a full year. Panelists cited a Q1 guide range of 77 to 79 billion versus a consensus of 72. 4 billion, and observed that gross margin was remaining in the mid-70s level. That viewpoint held that the market may be asking if these fundamentals are already fully priced in, and that question was reflected in the stock's behaviour.

Nancy Tengler said she saw parallels to prior pullbacks, noting an opportunity once existed to buy Nvidia at just over $100 a share and that the name later ran up and then pulled back. She said a case for value includes 60+ percent earnings growth and trading at a price below 25 times next year's earnings. Panel discussion also noted that China has not fully played in yet, and that sovereign is just getting started—"they posted 30 billion in sovereign revenues and that was three 3x year-over-year. " Commentators said hedge funds began putting pressure on these names in the fall, and expressed the view that compute equals inference equals revenues as hyperscalers say they lack enough capacity.

Conference call and timing

NVIDIA announced it will conduct a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 financial results and current financial prospects 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 and the webcast will be recorded and available for replay until the company's conference call to discuss its first quarter of fiscal 2027 results.

Accounting changes and tax outlook

Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, NVIDIA will include stock-based compensation expense in non-GAAP financial measures; stock-based compensation is a foundational component of NVIDIA’s compensation program to attract and retain world-class talent. To supplement GAAP statements, NVIDIA uses 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, or earnings, per diluted share, and free cash flow. The reconciliations for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 adjust related GAAP financial measures to exclude stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related and other costs, other, gains/losses fr — 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. Colette Kress, NVIDIA’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, provided commentary on the quarter that the company has made available.

CEO commentary on AI leadership

Founder and CEO Jensen Huang framed the results around AI demand, saying, "Computing demand is growing exponentially — the agentic AI inflection point has arrived. 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. " He added, "Enterprise adoption of agents is skyrocketing. Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute — the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth. "

The company’s results, guidance and the surrounding market debate left investors weighing a large beat to consensus and robust fiscal-year metrics against a view that the gains and margins may already be priced into the stock.