Nvidia Exceeded High Expectations in the First Quarter

Nvidia exceeded already-high expectations going into its quarterly earnings report, predicting more robust demand in the second quarter for its graphics processors that support AI and gaming, according to Bloomberg.

Revenue in the fiscal second quarter will be $3.1 billion, plus or minus 2 percent, the company said in a statement. That would top the average analyst estimate of $2.95 billion. Nvidia revealed for the first time how much revenue it generated from chip sales to the cryptocurrency market and said that figure will be much smaller in the second quarter.

Nvidia’s market capitalization has jumped to $158 billion, from just $30 billion, in seven quarters. First-quarter results were also strong. Net income rose to $1.24 billion, or $1.98 a share, in the period, from $507 million, or $79 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales jumped 66 percent to $3.21 billion. Analysts on average had projected profit of $1.46 a share on sales of $2.9 billion.

Data center revenue rose 71 percent in the period to $701 million, beating some estimates for $653 million. Sales from gaming, which represents more than half the company’s total revenue, were up 68 percent, to $1.72 billion, beating Wall Street projections of $1.55 billion.

Nvidia is benefiting from a better-than-expected market for personal computer sales in the first quarter as well as other indicators that suggest a “still-tight“ gaming card market. This segment also includes cryptocurrency-related sales, which have gotten increasing attention as prices for digital coins have surged in the last several years.

Demand from cryptocurrency miners was stronger-than-expected in the first quarter and translated into revenue of $289 million, Nvidia said. Crypto sales will probably fall by about two-thirds in the current fiscal quarter, the company said.