NVIDIA, which dominates artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, recorded an ‘earnings surprise’. NVIDIA’s operating profit in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year (November to January) jumped 983% and net profit 769% compared to a year ago, and NVIDIA’s stock price jumped 9.5% during after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange after the earnings announcement.
Nvidia announced on the 21st (local time) that it recorded sales of $22.1 billion (KRW 29.5035 trillion) and net profit of $5.15 (KRW 6,875) per share in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2024. This figure exceeds the sales forecast ($20.62 billion) and earnings per share forecast ($4.64) compiled by market research firm LSEG.
Thanks to the power of generative AI that shook the world last year, both sales and profits rose to record levels. Sales jumped 265% compared to the same period last year, and net profit also surged 33% compared to the previous quarter and 769% compared to the same period last year to $12.285 billion (KRW 16.4004 trillion).
“Accelerated computing and generative AI have reached a ‘tipping point,’” said NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang in a press release that day. “Demand is surging across companies, industries, and countries globally. “There is,” he said. A tipping point is when a specific phenomenon or technology appears slowly and then grows explosively at some point.
Even though the U.S. administration blocked the export of some of Nvidia’s AI chips to China last year, Nvidia’s stock price also rose vertically in after-hours trading as Nvidia’s performance exceeded market expectations. It showed the appearance of making up for the decline in regular trading for two consecutive days, exceeding 9.5% during the day and approaching 10%.
NVIDIA said that sales exceeding market expectations were due to strong sales of server AI chips such as the H100. The data center business, which accounts for most of NVIDIA’s sales, increased 409%, and the gaming division, which includes graphics cards for laptops and PCs, increased 56% compared to the previous year. “We have seen strong demand across multiple industries, including enterprise software, consumer Internet applications, automotive, financial services, and healthcare,” NVIDIA said.
NVIDIA also presented guidance of $24 billion in sales for the first quarter of its fiscal year (February to April), exceeding the market forecast ($22.17 billion).
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.