Nvidia reported impressive fourth-quarter revenue of $22.1 billion for fiscal year 2024 (ending January 31, 2024), exceeding Wall Street's expectations. This marks a remarkable increase of 265% year-over-year and a 22% rise from the previous quarter.
The company's data center segment surged by 409% year-over-year and 27% sequentially to reach $18.4 billion. In contrast, Nvidia's prior quarter revenue was $18.2 billion, while its total revenue for the fiscal year hit $60.9 billion, a 126% increase.
GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter stood at $4.93, representing a staggering increase of over 765% year-over-year and a 33% rise from the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share reached $11.93, up 586% year-over-year.
"Accelerated computing and generative AI have reached a tipping point, driving surging demand across the globe," stated Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. He noted that this demand spans various sectors, including massive cloud service providers, enterprise software, and consumer internet companies, with vertical industries like automotive, financial services, and healthcare now generating multibillion-dollar revenues.
Huang highlighted the popularity of Nvidia RTX, launched less than six years ago, stating it has become a dominant PC platform for generative AI, utilized by over 100 million gamers and creators. He invited attendees to Nvidia's upcoming GTC event to unveil significant innovations for the year ahead.
Reflecting on Nvidia's beginnings, Huang recently revisited Denny's in San Jose, California, where the company was founded. Before the earnings announcement, Nvidia's market value stood at $1.667 trillion, positioning it alongside tech giants Microsoft ($2.988 trillion), Apple ($2.815 trillion), Google ($1.781 trillion), and Amazon ($1.751 trillion).
The data center segment of Nvidia encompasses server GPUs, networking, and AI cloud software. Analysts had anticipated the company would report earnings per share of $4.63 on revenue of $20.62 billion.
Looking ahead, Nvidia forecasts first-quarter fiscal 2024 revenue at approximately $24 billion (plus or minus 2%). GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins are projected at 76.3% and 77%, respectively, with operating expenses expected to be around $3.5 billion (GAAP) and $2.5 billion (non-GAAP). The company anticipates approximately $250 million in other income, excluding gains from non-affiliated investments.
During an analyst call, Huang discussed the implications of the U.S. government's restrictions on shipments to China, emphasizing Nvidia’s efforts to adapt its products for regulatory compliance. He asserted the favorable conditions for continuing growth, emphasizing a significant shift from general to accelerated computing. He explained that GPUs enhance throughput, offering greater energy efficiency and cost reductions compared to traditional CPUs.
Huang introduced the concept of “sovereign AI,” where countries and companies prioritize data protection and transformation within their borders. This has led to the emergence of “AI generation factories,” which leverage Nvidia's supercomputers to transform raw data into valuable AI outputs, impacting platforms like Midjourney.
He pointed out the ongoing demand for AI supercomputers, stating that almost every interaction with generative AI services like ChatGPT involves Nvidia hardware. Huang noted that major cloud service providers are continuously investing in hardware development, contributing to the rise of sovereign AI infrastructure in various countries.
Furthermore, he predicted that the trends towards accelerated computing and generative AI would double the world's data center infrastructure in the next five years, representing market opportunities worth hundreds of billions.
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In the data center segment, Nvidia has expanded collaborations with Amazon Web Services and launched new optimizations for Google’s Gemma language models. The company reported a significant 217% increase in data center revenue year-over-year.
Nvidia's gaming division recorded $2.9 billion in revenue, maintaining steady performance from the previous quarter and up 56% from last year. This increase reflects higher demand and the successful launch of the GeForce RTX 40 Super Series GPUs.
In professional visualization, Nvidia achieved $463 million in revenue for the quarter, demonstrating an 11% increase from the previous quarter and a 105% rise year-over-year. The company continues to innovate within automotive applications, generating revenue from Nvidia Drive Orin and preparing to launch its successor, Nvidia Drive Thor.
As a closing note, Huang invited everyone to attend Nvidia’s GTC conference from March 18 to 20, where he will moderate a panel on the Omniverse on March 19 at 4 PM.
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