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Nvidia unveiled its second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday after the market’s closing bell, providing undeniable evidence that substantial profits lie in supplying the essential infrastructure for the thriving generative AI industry.
“We stand at the dawn of a new computing epoch. Companies across the globe are in the midst of a shift from conventional computing to accelerated computing and generative AI,” remarked Nvidia’s CEO and founder, Jensen Huang, in an official statement.
Huang’s assertion is far from baseless. Nvidia has indisputably emerged as the primary supplier driving the generative AI landscape. The company’s A100 and H100 AI chips have become cornerstones for constructing and operating AI applications, notably exemplified by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The demand for these sophisticated applications has experienced consistent growth over the past year, prompting a shift in infrastructure to accommodate them.
According to Huang, numerous cloud service providers have recently disclosed plans to integrate Nvidia H100 AI hardware into their data centers. Additionally, enterprise IT system and software providers have established collaborations to infuse Nvidia AI into diverse industries.
“The race to adopt generative AI is in full swing,” Huang emphasized.
During the second quarter, Nvidia boasted a staggering revenue of $13.51 billion, far surpassing Wall Street’s expectations and doubling the $6.7 billion generated during the same period last year. Financial analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance had projected Q2 revenue to reach $11.22 billion.
In terms of GAAP net income, Nvidia reported a staggering $6.18 billion, a monumental increase from the $656 million recorded during the corresponding period the previous year, marking a gain of over ninefold. The company’s net income witnessed a remarkable surge even when compared to the first quarter, when earnings stood at $2.04 billion. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter settled at $2.48, representing an astonishing 854% rise from the same period in the preceding year. Financial experts polled by Yahoo Finance had anticipated earnings per diluted share to reach $2.09.
These results underscore the radical transformation of Nvidia’s business landscape. Although the gaming division, historically a major revenue driver, continues to expand—Q2 revenue reached $2.49 billion, reflecting a 22% increase from the previous year—it has been overshadowed by the towering achievements of Nvidia’s data center division. The data center business raked in a staggering $10.32 billion in revenue, marking a remarkable 141% surge from the preceding quarter and an impressive 171% growth compared to the previous year.
During a keynote address at SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles earlier this month, Huang underscored a pivotal business decision made in 2018. The company embraced AI-powered image processing in the form of ray tracing and intelligent upscaling, resulting in RTX and DLSS.
This strategic bet has undoubtedly paid off, and Nvidia’s projections promise even more impressive growth. The company anticipates revenue of $16 billion for the third quarter, with a margin of error of 2%.
Huang expounded during the earnings call, “The global cloud infrastructure has amassed an estimated trillion-dollar value. This colossal resource is currently undergoing a transformation into accelerated computing and generative AI. We are witnessing two concurrent shifts in platforms.”
He emphasized that accelerated computing has proven to be the most cost-effective, energy-efficient, and high-performing method of computation. Furthermore, the emergence of generative AI has introduced an extraordinary application, providing compelling incentives for a platform shift from conventional general-purpose computing to accelerated computing.
“The introduction of this remarkable application now presents everyone with two compelling reasons to transition to this novel approach to computing—accelerated computing,” he concluded.
