Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) has spent much of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom proving skeptics wrong. Quarter after quarter, the chip giant has capitalized on the massive rush to build AI infrastructure, cementing its position at the center of one of the biggest technology investment cycles in years. Along the way, NVDA stock has delivered spectacular gains and become virtually synonymous with the AI trade. But keeping that momentum alive is getting harder for the AI darling.
Investors are beginning to look beyond Nvidia’s impressive growth numbers and question just how long the current pace of AI spending can continue. Tech giants are pouring billions into AI infrastructure, rivals are stepping up their efforts to develop custom silicon, and Nvidia itself is operating under exceptionally high expectations. None of this necessarily spells trouble for the company, but it does mean that investors are becoming increasingly sensitive to anything that could threaten its growth trajectory.
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That makes Jensen Huang’s latest update particularly noteworthy. During a visit to Tokyo on Wednesday, the Nvidia CEO dismissed concerns that manufacturing challenges could derail the rollout of the company’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI platform. Huang said the new systems are already in production and progressing toward customer deliveries. He also indicated that Nvidia is gearing up for production at a “giant” scale, according to Bloomberg News, although he did not offer a precise timeline.
The comments come at a crucial time. Reports earlier this month had raised concerns that manufacturing difficulties involving a specialized circuit board used in Nvidia’s advanced server racks could potentially slow the launch. Huang’s remarks suggest those issues may not be enough to knock the highly anticipated platform off course.
So, with Vera Rubin now moving closer to customers, is NVDA still a stock worth chasing at current levels?
About Nvidia Stock
Over the past five years, few stocks have captured the AI story quite like Nvidia. As AI moved from an emerging technology to a major investment priority, demand for the computing power behind it surged, and Nvidia found itself in the middle of that shift. Its chips now support everything from ChatGPT and cloud-based AI services to autonomous vehicles and advanced scientific research, making the company one of the biggest beneficiaries of the billions being spent on AI infrastructure worldwide.
However, Nvidia was not always an AI powerhouse. Founded in 1993 as a graphics chip company focused on gaming, it spent decades expanding the role of its GPUs beyond rendering video game graphics. That evolution eventually positioned Nvidia to capitalize on the sudden rise of generative AI, where enormous amounts of computing power are required to train and run increasingly complex models.
Its growing lineup of AI accelerators has played a major role in establishing that position. The Hopper-based H100 became a key chip during the initial generative AI surge, followed by the more advanced Blackwell platform. Next in line is Rubin, Nvidia’s upcoming architecture that is expected to support the next generation of AI workloads. Together, these products have helped the company build a sizable lead in the market for AI computing.
The numbers show just how dramatically Nvidia’s fortunes have changed. The company now carries a market capitalization of roughly $5.02 trillion, making it the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. Meanwhile, NVDA stock has climbed 14,429% over the past decade, an extraordinary run by almost any measure. But lately, Nvidia is no longer the only AI stock commanding Wall Street’s attention.
While NVDA has gained a solid 18% during the past year and 9.5% year-to-date (YTD), several memory chip stocks and newer AI plays have raced ahead, shifting some of the market’s attention elsewhere. At the same time, questions are emerging about whether the enormous amounts being invested in AI infrastructure can continue growing at the same pace. Those concerns have become more visible in Nvidia’s recent stock performance. After touching an all-time high of $236.54 on May 14, NVDA has pulled back roughly 12.7%.
Some of that decline may reflect investors locking in gains after a remarkable rally, but there are broader issues at play as well. Major technology companies are investing more heavily in their own custom AI chips, and Wall Street is increasingly debating whether today’s massive AI spending cycle can deliver returns large enough to justify the investment. Broader headwinds in the technology sector have also contributed to investors’ skepticism.
Fears of an eventual slowdown in AI spending have become a growing part of the Nvidia debate, but the company’s latest quarterly numbers tell a different story. For now, demand for AI computing infrastructure appears to be running at full speed, as cloud providers, businesses, and governments continue investing heavily in the computing capacity needed to support increasingly sophisticated AI models. That demand translated into another record quarter for Nvidia. Fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue surged 85% year-over-year (YOY) to $81.62 billion, easily topping Wall Street’s estimate of $78.84 billion.
Earnings grew even faster, with adjusted EPS jumping 140% from the prior-year period to $1.87, ahead of analysts’ consensus forecast of $1.77. Alongside the strong results, Nvidia also changed the way it reports its operations, reflecting just how far the company has moved beyond its traditional graphics-chip roots. Its business is now organized into two primary segments: Data Center and Edge Computing. Unsurprisingly, Data Center remains the engine driving Nvidia’s growth.
The segment generated $75.2 billion in quarterly revenue, accounting for more than 92% of the company’s total sales, and grew 92% from a year ago. The performance reflects continued demand for Nvidia’s AI accelerators as customers race to expand data center capacity for generative AI and other compute-intensive workloads. Nvidia’s Edge Computing business, while considerably smaller, is also gaining ground.
Revenue from the segment increased 29% YOY to $6.4 billion, benefiting from the expanding use of AI across gaming and PCs, industrial robotics, networking, autonomous systems, and automotive applications. Perhaps just as notable as Nvidia’s revenue growth is the profitability accompanying it. The company reported a GAAP gross margin of 74.9%, unchanged from the previous quarter and significantly higher than a year earlier.
Maintaining margins at that level suggests Nvidia continues to benefit from strong demand even as competition across the AI chip market intensifies. In addition, the company is returning a sizable portion of its cash to shareholders. During the quarter, Nvidia distributed approximately $20 billion through share repurchases and cash dividends, while continuing to invest in the technologies and products expected to support its next phase of growth.
And management does not appear to be signaling a slowdown just yet. Nvidia expects fiscal second-quarter revenue of roughly $91 billion, comfortably above Wall Street’s projection of about $86.11 billion, while gross margins are forecast to remain near 75%. What makes that outlook particularly noteworthy is what it leaves out. Nvidia’s forecast assumes no Data Center compute revenue from China, indicating that demand elsewhere remains strong enough to support another quarter of substantial growth despite ongoing geopolitical restrictions.
For investors questioning whether the AI infrastructure boom is beginning to run out of steam, Nvidia’s latest results and guidance offer little evidence of that happening, at least for now. With revenue still accelerating, margins holding near 75%, and management forecasting another record quarter, the massive AI spending cycle that has powered Nvidia’s growth appears to have considerable momentum left.
How Are Analysts Viewing Nvidia Stock?
While investors have become increasingly cautious about Nvidia after its remarkable run, Wall Street is far from giving up on Nvidia. Analyst sentiment remains overwhelmingly bullish, with NVDA carrying a consensus “Strong Buy” rating. Of the 48 analysts covering the stock, 42 recommend a “Strong Buy,” three rate it a “Moderate Buy,” and two suggest a “Hold,” while just one analyst has issued a “Strong Sell.”
The upside potential is equally eye-catching. The average price target of $302.96 points to a potential 47% gain, while the Street-high target of $500 suggests NVDA could soar as much as 142.7% from current levels.
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On the date of publication, Anushka Mukherji did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
