Nvidia doubles revenue, forecasts even more AI spending

AI giant Nvidia announced on Wednesday a staggering quarter revenue of US$96.2 billion, more than double the previous year's figures. The company's performance surpassed Wall Street expectations, as Nvidia's products were crucial in the AI spending boom. Nvidia's results are largely driven by major AI firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google, which make significant purchases from the company.

For the quarter ending July 26, revenue increased by 106% from the same period last year and 18% from the previous quarter, both significantly surpassing analyst forecasts of around US$92 billion. Nvidia's net profit reached US$59.7 billion, up 126% from a year earlier, but the substantial increase was attributed to US$7.8 billion in gains from its stake in AI companies.

Nvidia expects to generate about US$108 billion in revenue for the current quarter, well ahead of Wall Street predictions, indicating no near-term slowdown in AI spending. Major customers like Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta are projected to spend around US$800 billion on data centers and AI infrastructure this year, nearly double the amount spent last year, with analysts predicting industry-wide spending to exceed US$1 trillion.

The surge in spending has led Nvidia to become increasingly involved in financing AI expansion, including helping AI startups pay for infrastructure based on Nvidia's technology. However, the company has faced scrutiny over this circular financing. Nvidia is not expected to generate any revenue from sales of AI computing chips in China due to recent restrictions.

ByteDance and Tencent are among the few companies that have received Nvidia's H200 processors, with ByteDance reportedly acquiring around 10,000 units. Despite the growth in revenue, Nvidia's share price growth has been slower compared to other chip companies.