NVIDIA achieves record revenue of USD $26 billion in Q1 2025

NVIDIA has reported a record-breaking first quarter for the fiscal year 2025, with revenue soaring to USD $26.0 billion, marking an 18% increase from the preceding quarter and a staggering 262% rise year-on-year. The company's growth was largely driven by significant advancements in its Data Center segment, which alone generated USD $22.6 billion in revenue, up 23% from the previous quarter and 427% higher compared to the same period last year.

The company's founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, highlighted NVIDIA's pivotal role in the ongoing industrial revolution, where businesses and nations are leveraging the company's technology to transition from traditional data centres to those focused on accelerated computing. Huang stated that the era of generative AI is expanding across various sectors, including consumer internet services, enterprise applications, automotive, and healthcare. This expansion has created multiple multibillion-dollar markets, promising NVIDIA substantial future growth.

Financial results for the first quarter underscore the company's robust performance. GAAP earnings per diluted share reached USD $5.98, representing a 21% increase from the previous quarter and an impressive 629% rise from the same period last year. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were USD $6.12, up 19% quarter-on-quarter and 461% year-on-year.

In an endeavour to make stock ownership more accessible and to reward its shareholders, NVIDIA has announced a ten-for-one forward stock split, effective from June 2024. Additionally, the quarterly cash dividend has been increased by 150% to USD $0.01 per share on a post-split basis. The dividend hike reflects the company's commitment to returning value to its shareholders.

Looking ahead, NVIDIA has issued an optimistic outlook for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, forecasting revenues of USD $28.0 billion, plus or minus 2%. The expected gross margins for both GAAP and non-GAAP are set around 74.8% and 75.5%, respectively. Operating expenses for the quarter are anticipated to be approximately USD $4.0 billion on a GAAP basis and USD $2.8 billion on a non-GAAP basis. NVIDIA projects these trends to continue, with full-year operating expenses expected to grow in the low-40% range.

During the first quarter, NVIDIA also unveiled the Blackwell platform, designed to support generative AI at a trillion-parameter scale. This, along with the Spectrum-X technology aimed at Ethernet-only data centres and the NVIDIA NIM software, is set to drive further growth. Multiple high-profile partnerships and product launches were announced, including collaborations with AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Oracle to advance generative AI innovation. The company also showcased new AI-driven technologies in various sectors, such as gaming, professional visualisation, and automotive.

In the gaming segment, NVIDIA's revenue totalled USD $2.6 billion, showcasing an 18% increase from the previous year but an 8% decline from the previous quarter. New AI gaming technologies and performance optimisations were launched, alongside announcements for blockbuster games incorporating NVIDIA's RTX technology, including "Star Wars Outlaws" and "Black Myth: Wukong."

The Professional Visualization segment recorded USD $427 million, up 45% year-on-year despite an 8% quarterly decline. Significant product launches included NVIDIA RTX GPUs for both laptops and desktop workstations aimed at enhancing AI workflows.

Automotive revenue reached USD $329 million, reflecting a 17% rise from the previous quarter and an 11% year-on-year increase. NVIDIA announced several automotive partnerships, highlighting the adoption of its DRIVE platforms by various electric vehicle manufacturers in the US and China.