Nvidia CEO: Supporting the new administration is "our highest mandate"
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NVIDIA founder, President and CEO Jensen Huang in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Nvidia on Wednesday afternoon projected strong demand for its products in Q4, the first period to include sales of its new Blackwell AI chip.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign that businesses continue to crave more computing power for emerging AI projects.
The big picture: The results also come on the heels of the U.S. presidential election — the outcome of which has some investors worried about the potential impact new tariffs or export restrictions may have on multinational companies.
- "Whatever the new administration decides, we will, of course, support the administration," CEO Jensen Huang said on the earnings call in response to an analyst's question about the political landscape.
- "That's our highest mandate. ... We will comply with any regulation that comes along, fully, and support our customers, to the best of our abilities and compete in the marketplace. We'll do all of these three things simultaneously."
Zoom in: As for its current state, Nvidia continues to see greater interest in its products than it can satisfy, according to executives.
- "Blackwell demand is staggering, and we are racing to scale supply to meet the incredible demand customers are placing on us," Nvidia CFO Colette Kress told analysts Wednesday afternoon.
- "Almost every company in the world seems to be involved in our supply chain," Huang also joked, while reiterating that the company will deliver more Blackwells this quarter than previously estimated.
By the numbers: For Q3, Nvidia generated $35.1 billion in revenue and net income of $19.3 billion, both exceeding expectations.
- Sales for the company's current quarter are projected to reach $37.5 billion, slightly above average Wall Street expectations of about $37 billion.
- Meeting that target would represent roughly 70% growth from a year ago's $22.1 billion.
The impact: Shares of the company fell after hours as investors hoped for a bigger beat on revenue projections.
- Options-implied moves for the stock the day after earnings had been about 8% in either direction, or a swing of $300 billion in market value.
What we're watching: Nvidia's outsized impact on the overall stock market means investor sentiment on the stock will spill over to other sectors in the days to come.
- Its shares singlehandedly account for about 23% of the S&P 500's total return so far this year, which is nearly as much as the rest of the Mag 7 combined, Sherwood News notes.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details from the company's earnings call.
