Nvidia forecasts $91bn revenue, unveils $20bn Vera chip market

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Ronald Ralinala

May 21, 2026

Nvidia’s latest earnings call painted a picture of relentless growth, with CEO Jensen Huang insisting the company can sustain its blistering pace by tapping a wider swathe of data‑centre clients and rolling out new silicon that will help push AI chip sales past the US$1‑trillion mark. The optimism came even as the stock slipped 1.6 % in after‑hours trading, a reflex to worries that rivals such as Google, Amazon, AMD and Intel could chisel away at the market share that has made Nvidia the de‑facto benchmark for artificial‑intelligence infrastructure.

The Silicon Valley titan forecast fiscal‑year revenue of US$91 billion ± 2 %, outstripping LSEG’s consensus of US$86.8 billion. Data‑centre revenue alone is expected to hit US$75 billion, comfortably above analysts’ average estimate of US$72.8 billion. While the numbers look impressive, investors remain keen to see whether the AI build‑out can retain its momentum through 2027‑2028, when the focus is likely to shift from training heavy‑weight models to inference workloads that demand different chip architectures.

Key financial highlights

MetricNvidia forecastAnalyst consensus
Total revenue (FY)US$91 bn ± 2 %US$86.8 bn
Data‑centre revenueUS$75 bnUS$72.8 bn
Adjusted EPSUS$1.87US$1.76
Quarterly dividendUS$0.25 per share

The table shows Nvidia is betting on a revenue uplift of roughly US$4 bn for the year, driven largely by data‑centre sales and an expanded product slate. The modest EPS beat further reinforces the company’s ability to convert revenue growth into shareholder returns, especially after the dividend hike from US$0.01 to US$0.25 per share.

Huang highlighted a burgeoning sub‑segment of AI‑focused cloud providers that, while still smaller than the hyperscale giants, are growing faster quarter‑over‑quarter. “We should be growing faster than hyperscale capex,” he told analysts, pointing to a diversification strategy that could cushion Nvidia against a slowdown among the traditional big‑tech customers.

Nvidia AI chip sales poised to break the US$1‑trillion barrier

Beyond the flagship “Blackwell” and “Rubin” GPUs, Nvidia introduced the Vera line of CPUs and AI accelerators—a collaborative effort with inference specialist Groq. Huang projected US$20 bn in Vera revenue by the end of the fiscal year, positioning the new platform as the second‑largest contributor after the trillion‑dollar GPU suite. While Vera opens a US$200 bn market, Huang warned that supply constraints could linger throughout its lifecycle, echoing concerns about a global memory‑chip crunch that has already nudged Nvidia’s supply valuation up to US$119 bn in Q1.

Competition is heating up on two fronts. First, the AI‑cloud arms race is prompting major customers to design custom silicon, potentially eroding Nvidia’s pricing power. Second, CPU manufacturers Intel and AMD are aggressively courting the inference market, promising lower‑cost alternatives for workloads that do not require the raw horsepower of Nvidia’s GPUs. In response, Nvidia’s acquisition‑lite strategy—partnering with niche players like Groq—aims to broaden its architecture portfolio without the heavy R&D outlays that have traditionally slowed product roll‑outs.

The broader AI spend landscape remains overwhelmingly in Nvidia’s favour. Industry analysts estimate US tech giants will pour over US$700 bn into AI infrastructure this year, a steep rise from US$400 bn projected for 2025. This influx of capital fuels demand for high‑performance GPUs, and Nvidia’s deep integration into most of the world’s leading data centres cements its role as a bellwether for the sector’s health.

Supply‑chain vigilance is a recurring theme on the call. With memory shortages still looming, Nvidia has bolstered its inventory to US$119 bn, up from US$95.2 bn a quarter earlier. The company also secured US$30 bn in cloud‑computing agreements—up from US$27 bn—to lock in capacity for its next‑generation hardware, a move analysts interpret as a “backstop” that safeguards against over‑promising on delivery timelines.

Overall, Nvidia’s latest results underscore a dual narrative: impressive top‑line growth buttressed by a diversified client base and a bold product pipeline, yet shadowed by looming competitive pressure and supply‑chain fragility. The market’s reaction suggests investors are weighing the company’s ability to translate its AI‑centric vision into sustained profitability well beyond the next fiscal year.