NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) chief executive Jensen Huang sought to reassure investors on Wednesday that the company can maintain its rapid growth trajectory through a broader customer base and the launch of new data centre products, while projecting that sales of its flagship AI chips could exceed US$1 trillion.
Despite forecasting second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations and unveiling a new US$80 billion share buyback programme, Nvidia shares slipped 1.6% in extended trading, reflecting investor concerns over intensifying competition in the AI semiconductor market.
The company expects second-quarter revenue of approximately US$91 billion, plus or minus 2%, ahead of analyst forecasts of US$86.84 billion, according to LSEG data.
Nvidia’s quarterly results are widely viewed as a key indicator of overall AI industry momentum because its processors power many of the world’s largest and most advanced artificial intelligence systems and data centres.
“Nvidia delivered another beat, but at this point that’s essentially priced in as it keeps beating quarter after quarter,” said Jacob Bourne, analyst at eMarketer.
“The lingering question is whether it can convince investors the AI buildout has durability into 2027 and 2028, especially as the narrative shifts toward inference workloads and competing silicon from Google, Amazon, AMD, and Intel.”
The company also announced plans to raise its quarterly cash dividend to 25 cents per share from 1 cent previously.
Investment in AI infrastructure continues to accelerate rapidly, with major U.S. technology groups including Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft expected to collectively spend more than US$700 billion on AI this year, up sharply from roughly US$400 billion in 2025.
During a conference call with analysts, Huang said he expects Nvidia’s growth rate to outpace spending increases among hyperscale cloud customers, pointing to rising demand from a newer category of AI-focused cloud providers within the company’s data centre business.
According to Huang, revenue from those customers has reached levels comparable to major cloud operators while expanding at a faster sequential pace.
“We should be growing faster than hyperscale capex,” Huang said.
Competition intensifies as rivals develop custom AI chips
Although many of Nvidia’s largest customers continue to rely heavily on its high-end processors, several are simultaneously investing heavily in their own custom AI chips, creating growing competitive pressure for Nvidia’s long-standing dominance in the semiconductor industry.
In addition to competition from major technology firms, Nvidia also faces pressure from rivals including Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, both of which have highlighted substantial revenue opportunities tied to supplying processors for inference workloads.
Nvidia has already begun expanding its product offering to defend its market position. In March, the company introduced a new central processing unit and AI platform based on technology developed by Groq, a startup focused on inference computing.
Nvidia sees major opportunity for Vera processors
Huang said during the earnings call that Nvidia’s new “Vera” processors open access to what he described as a US$200 billion addressable market.
The company expects revenue from Vera chips to reach US$20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. Huang clarified that those sales projections were not included in Nvidia’s earlier forecast of US$1 trillion in cumulative sales from its “Blackwell” and “Rubin” AI chip platforms between 2025 and 2027.
“I expect (Vera) to be the second largest” contributor to revenue beyond the US$1 trillion expected from Blackwell and Rubin chips, Huang said during the call. “All of our customers are quite excited about Vera.”
Huang also acknowledged that supply limitations are likely to persist.
“my sense is that we’ll be supply-constrained through the entire life of Vera Rubin,” he said, referring to Nvidia’s upcoming combined hardware platform scheduled for release later this year.
To avoid supply-chain disruptions during the ongoing global memory chip shortage, Nvidia continues to increase spending on inventory and supply capacity.
The company reported that supply-related spending rose to US$119 billion during the fiscal first quarter, compared with US$95.2 billion in the previous quarter.
Quarterly results exceed analyst expectations
Nvidia reported first-quarter revenue of US$81.62 billion, comfortably above analyst estimates of US$78.86 billion, according to LSEG data.
Revenue from the company’s data centre division reached US$75.2 billion during the quarter, compared with analyst expectations of US$72.8 billion.
On an adjusted basis, Nvidia earned US$1.87 per share, surpassing market forecasts of US$1.76 per share.
The company also disclosed US$30 billion worth of cloud computing agreements, up from US$27 billion in the previous quarter, which Nvidia said support its ongoing research and development initiatives.
Seaport analyst Jay Goldberg previously suggested in a research note that such arrangements likely function as “backstops,” where Nvidia agrees to compensate cloud providers purchasing its hardware for unused excess computing capacity tied to Nvidia-powered systems.