Nvidia Earnings Soar Past Expectations; Huang Predicts 70% Revenue Growth by Fiscal 2028

Nvidia's latest earnings report, released after market close on August 26, 2026, showed the chipmaker beating analyst expectations on both revenue and profit. The company's core data center business, which supplies the graphics processing units (GPUs) essential for training and running large AI models, continued to surge as demand from cloud providers and enterprise customers shows no signs of abating.

During the earnings call, CEO Jensen Huang projected that Nvidia's revenue would grow approximately 70% in fiscal year 2028, a figure that dwarfs the average analyst estimate of around 40–50% growth. Huang attributed the optimistic outlook to the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, calling it "the largest technology transition in computing history." He noted that customers are investing not only in current-generation chips but also in next-generation architectures like the forthcoming "Rubin" platform.

The report and guidance sent Nvidia shares up 8% in after-hours trading, adding to a year that has already seen the company's market capitalization hover near $3.5 trillion. Analysts at several major investment banks raised their price targets following the announcement, with Morgan Stanley calling the results "a clear signal that the AI capex cycle remains strong."

However, some market observers caution that Nvidia's sky-high expectations come with risks. The company's valuation — trading at roughly 50 times forward earnings — leaves little room for error. Geopolitical tensions over export controls on advanced chips to China and other countries remain a potential headwind, as does the threat of increasing competition from AMD, Intel, and in-house chip projects at hyperscalers like Google and Amazon.

Nvidia did not provide a breakdown of revenue by region, but management acknowledged that export restrictions continue to limit sales in certain markets. The company also faces scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe examining its dominance in the AI chip sector.

Despite these challenges, Huang expressed confidence that Nvidia's full-stack approach — combining hardware, software (CUDA), and networking — gives it a durable competitive advantage. "We are building the AI factory of the future," he said, "and demand for that infrastructure will only accelerate."

Why This Matters

Nvidia's fiscal 2028 forecast of 70% revenue growth far exceeds analyst expectations, signaling that the AI boom is still in its early stages and that spending on AI infrastructure will continue to drive market dynamics.
The earnings report is a bellwether for the broader tech sector: if Nvidia's customers keep buying chips at this pace, cloud providers and enterprise IT budgets are heavily committed to AI, affecting everything from data center construction to energy demand.
Investors are now pricing in sustained high growth, which raises the stakes for Nvidia's upcoming product cycles and for the company's ability to navigate export controls and antitrust scrutiny.

Background

Nvidia has been the dominant supplier of GPUs for AI workloads since the 2022 launch of ChatGPT sparked a global race to build and deploy large language models. Over the past four years, the company's data center revenue has grown from roughly $15 billion annually to over $100 billion, with its market capitalization crossing $3 trillion in 2024. Huang's vision of "AI factories" — massive data centers filled with Nvidia hardware — has become the standard blueprint for hyperscalers and enterprise customers alike. The company's previous generation "Hopper" and "Blackwell" architectures were met with insatiable demand, and the upcoming "Rubin" platform is expected to maintain that momentum. However, the company has faced challenges including export restrictions to China, investigations into its business practices by regulators, and the emergence of competing chips from AMD and custom ASICs from cloud giants.

Key Perspectives

Nvidia (Jensen Huang): The company is executing flawlessly and the AI transformation is just beginning. Huang sees 70% growth as conservative, given that demand continues to outstrip supply. He argues that Nvidia's integrated hardware-software ecosystem will maintain its lead over rivals. Analysts and bulls: Many on Wall Street view the guidance as credible, citing strong order backlogs and commitments from major customers like Microsoft, Meta, and Google. They argue that AI is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity and Nvidia will capture most of it. Skeptics and bears: Critics point to the unsustainable pace of growth, the risk of a capex cycle peak once hyperscalers reach capacity, and the threat from competitors. They also warn that regulatory actions could disrupt Nvidia's business model, and that high valuations leave little margin for error.

What to Watch

Actual fiscal 2028 revenue figures as quarterly reports come in; any signs of deceleration would trigger a sharp stock correction.
Announcements from AMD, Intel, and custom chip projects at Amazon, Google, or Microsoft that could erode Nvidia's market share.
Developments in U.S.-China export controls and antitrust investigations by the DOJ or European Commission.

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