NVIDIA is the world's leading manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence (AI) chips, which are widely used in gaming, data centers, professional visualization, automotive, and more. In recent years, with the rapid development and application of AI technology, NVIDIA's business has also ushered in explosive growth, especially its data center business, which has become the company's core competitiveness and growth engine.
On February 22, Nvidia announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 ended January 28, 2024, showing that its revenue and profit both hit record highs, exceeding market expectations, and the stock price was sharply ** in after-hours trading. Here are the key highlights from Nvidia's fourth-quarter earnings report:
Revenue of $22.1 billion increased 265% year-over-year and 22% sequentially, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $20.6 billion.
Net profit was US$12.3 billion, up 769% year-on-year and 33% quarter-on-quarter;
Diluted earnings per share were 4$93, up 765% year-on-year and 33% month-on-month. On a non-GAAP basis, adjusted earnings per share were 5$16, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $4$64;
Gross margin was 76%, compared to 63 percent in the year-ago quarter3%；
Operating expenses were 31US$800 million, a year-on-year increase of 23%;
Operating profit was $13.6 billion, up 983% year-over-year and 31% sequentially.
Nvidia's full-year fiscal 2024 results were equally impressive:
Revenue was 609US$2.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 126%;
Net profit was 297US$600 million, a year-on-year increase of 581%;
Diluted earnings per share were 1193 US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 586%;
Gross margin was 727%, compared to 569%；
Operating expenses were 113US$2.9 billion, up 2% year-on-year;
Operating profit was 329US$7.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 681%.
Nvidia also announced that it will pay a cash dividend of 0.0 per share for the following quarter on March 27, 2024 to all shareholders of record by March 6, 202404 USD.
Nvidia's strong fourth-quarter and full-year results were driven by the explosive performance of its data center business, which reached a record revenue of $18.4 billion, up 27% sequentially and 409% year-over-year. Full-year revenue jumped 217% to a staggering $47.5 billion. The data center business includes GPUs and AI chips for areas such as cloud computing, supercomputing, enterprise software, and consumer Internet, as well as network equipment and software companies such as Mellanox and Cumulus, which Nvidia acquired. Nvidia said its data center business is driven by a diversity of factors, including large cloud service providers, GPU specialists, as well as enterprise software and consumer Internet companies with urgent needs for data processing, model training and inference. Verticals such as automotive, financial services, and healthcare, in particular, have climbed to billions of dollars.
Nvidia's gaming business also performed well, with revenue of $2.9 billion, flat from the previous quarter and a significant increase of 56% from the same period last year. Full-year revenue increased 15% to $10.4 billion. The gaming business includes GPUs and related software for platforms such as PCs and consoles, as well as NVIDIA's own game streaming** service, GeForce Now, among others. Nvidia says its gaming business benefits from its innovative RTX platform, which leverages AI technology to enable real-time ray tracing and high-definition image generation, providing gamers and creators with a more realistic and immersive experience. Nvidia also said that the growth of its gaming business was also due to its partnership with Nintendo to provide customized Tegra chips for its Switch consoles.
Nvidia's other businesses, such as professional visualization and automotive, also saw solid growth. The revenue of the professional visualization business reached 4$6.3 billion, up 11% from the previous quarter and up 105% from the same period last year. Full-year revenue increased slightly by 1% to $1.6 billion. The Specialty Visualization business includes GPUs and related software for design, manufacturing, architecture, and entertainment, as well as NVIDIA's solutions for virtual reality and augmented reality. Nvidia said that the growth of its professional visualization business was mainly due to the promotion of its RTX platform, as well as the increased demand for remote work and education. Automotive revenue was 2$8.1 billion, up 8% from the prior quarter, and despite a slight decrease of 4% from the year-ago quarter, full-year revenue grew by a solid 21% to $1.1 billion. The automotive business includes GPUs, AI chips and related software for automakers and OEMs, as well as NVIDIA's autonomous driving platform. Nvidia said that the growth of its automotive business is mainly due to its cooperation with Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Audi and other automotive giants, providing them with solutions such as intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit.
Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang said after the earnings release that accelerated computing and generative AI have reached a tipping point, with demand from businesses, industries and countries soaring around the world. He also said that NVIDIA's data center platform is being driven by a variety of factors, including large cloud service providers, GPU professionals, as well as enterprise software and consumer Internet companies for data processing, model training and inference.
February** Dynamic Incentive Program