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Nvidia reports historic annual revenue
Nvidia has announced unprecedented annual revenue of $215.9 billion, defying investor concerns over heavy spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The chipmaker's latest financial results, released on Wednesday, revealed a 73% year-over-year surge in sales for the final quarter of its fiscal year, surpassing analyst expectations.
AI demand drives growth
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, attributed the record figures to soaring demand for AI computing power. "Our customers are aggressively investing in AI infrastructure-the factories fueling the AI industrial revolution and their future growth," Huang stated. Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market has positioned it as a critical supplier for major AI developers, including OpenAI and Meta.
Investor skepticism and geopolitical tensions
Despite its financial success, Nvidia faces scrutiny over its expanding network of partnerships, with critics warning of potential "circular financing"-where investments in other firms may distort perceptions of genuine AI demand. The company is also navigating geopolitical pressures, particularly between the U.S. and China. While the Trump administration recently approved sales of Nvidia's H200 chips to Chinese customers under specific conditions, a U.S. Commerce Department official confirmed this week that no such sales have occurred yet.
Expanding beyond chips
Nvidia is diversifying its portfolio to deepen its role in AI-driven products. At the CES trade show in Las Vegas last month, Huang unveiled "Alpamayo," an open-source AI platform designed to enhance reasoning in self-driving cars. The company also announced plans to launch a robotaxi service by 2027 in collaboration with an undisclosed partner.
Competition and acquisitions
While Nvidia leads in training AI models, it faces intensifying competition in inference-the process of applying trained models to real-world data. To bolster its position, Nvidia acquired rival Groq in a $20 billion deal during the fourth quarter, aiming to strengthen its inference capabilities.
"AI is advancing faster than those outside the field can comprehend," wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, on social media platform X.
Market dominance
Nvidia's stock market valuation has soared to approximately $4.8 trillion, making it the world's most valuable publicly traded company. Analysts suggest the AI infrastructure buildout will continue for years, though investor caution persists amid broader economic uncertainties.
