nvidia's ai surge drives record profits despite china setback
Santa Clara, donderdag, 26 februari 2026.
nvidia saw its revenue jump 73 percent to $68.1 billion in the last quarter, powered by surging demand for ai chips. the company’s profit nearly doubled to $43 billion, surpassing market expectations. this explosive growth is fueled by massive investments from tech giants like microsoft, google, and meta into new ai datacenters relying heavily on nvidia’s powerful graphics processors. a key breakthrough is the rollout of its blackwell-generation chips, improving cost efficiency. despite us relaxing export controls, nvidia confirms it still cannot sell its h200 chips to chinese customers, blocking a major market. the results silence doubts about whether soaring ai spending will deliver real returns. nvidia now expects next quarter’s revenue to hit $78 billion.
record-breaking quarter driven by ai demand
Nvidia’s revenue surged to $68.13 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2026, marking a 73% increase from $39.3 billion during the same period the prior year [73.359] [1]. The company’s net income reached $43 billion, a 94% rise compared to $22.1 billion a year earlier [1]. This growth was primarily driven by demand for AI chips used in large-scale datacenters operated by tech giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon [1][2]. The figures surpassed analyst projections of $65.9 billion in revenue and $1.54 in adjusted earnings per share [1][3].
blackwell rollout boosts profitability
The successful deployment of Nvidia’s Blackwell-generation chips contributed significantly to improved margins and profitability [1]. These advanced processors offer superior performance for both AI training and inference tasks, making them essential components in modern datacenters [4]. The enhanced cost-efficiency from scaling Blackwell production helped drive the net income near doubling despite rising operational costs [1]. Over 90% of Nvidia’s total revenue came from datacenter operations, with datacenter sales alone reaching $62.3 billion—up 75% year-on-year [1][3]. Industry experts note this reflects deep integration into hyperscaler infrastructure roadmaps [5].
china market remains blocked despite policy shift
Despite the relaxation of U.S. export controls allowing sales of H200 chips to China, Nvidia confirmed it continues to generate no revenue from Chinese clients [2][4]. Reports indicate Beijing has restricted imports of Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI processor, effectively nullifying the regulatory change [2]. “We still do not expect revenue contributions from China in the current quarter,” stated company officials during the earnings call [4]. This limitation affects strategic positioning in one of the world’s largest technology markets and could influence long-term competitive dynamics as domestic Chinese alternatives advance rapidly [2][5].
future outlook exceeds market expectations
Nvidia projected revenue of $78 billion, plus or minus 2%, for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, exceeding the $72.9 billion average analyst expectation [1][3]. Management attributed this robust forecast to sustained demand for current products and upcoming platforms like Vera Rubin, which began initial shipments ahead of full-scale H2 2026 production [4][5]. The company maintains supply commitments extending into 2027, reflecting strong customer confidence [3]. Even amid broader skepticism about AI capital expenditure returns, Nvidia’s results signal continued enterprise commitment to expanding computational capacity worldwide [5][6].
investor sentiment strengthens amid economic debate
While Goldman Sachs recently argued that AI investment added “basically zero” to U.S. GDP growth in 2025 due to reliance on imported hardware, Nvidia’s financial success underscores corporate prioritization of AI infrastructure [6]. Shares rose following the announcement, reinforcing investor belief in tangible returns from artificial intelligence spending [3][4]. Analysts emphasize that although macroeconomic benefits remain debated, individual firms like Nvidia are capturing substantial value through technological leadership [6][1]. This positions the company as a central player in the ongoing digital transformation across industries globally [5].