From Bloomberg:
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), the dominant maker of artificial intelligence processors, failed to impress investors with its latest sales forecast, signaling that concerns about an overheated AI economy will continue to dog the company.
Though the chipmaker delivered a 73% surge in fourth-quarter revenue and a first-quarter outlook that easily beat the average Wall Street estimate, Nvidia shares fell as much as 1.5% during a conference call with analysts. The stock was up less than 1% in premarket trading on Thursday.
It was a stark reminder of the skepticism now surrounding Nvidia. After explosive sales growth turned the chipmaker into the world’s most valuable company, investors are seeking stronger assurances that booming AI sales are here to stay.
“By most measures, Nvidia delivered a solid set of results,” analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a note after the results. “Even so, the stock response suggests investors were left wanting more.”
CEO Jensen Huang pushed back on the concerns during Wednesday’s call, arguing that customers are already making money from their newly acquired computing power. That’s why clients will keep investing at elevated levels, he said.
“You need compute capacity, and that translates directly to growth, and that translates directly to revenues,” Huang said. “I’m confident their cash flows are growing.”
