NVIDIA forecasts $1 trillion revenue

Why it matters

NVIDIA reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $81.6 billion on May 20, with data-center sales rising to $75.2 billion as spending on AI infrastructure continued to climb. The Santa Clara, California, company also raised its quarterly dividend, authorized an additional $80 billion of share repurchases and said Vera Rubin systems would begin shipping in the third quarter. Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s chief executive, used the earnings release and call to argue that AI demand remains durable and commercially productive. The stock fell after the results, even after the company posted revenue and data-center growth well above year-earlier levels. ### How big was the quarter NVIDIA just reported? NVIDIA said first-quarter revenue reached $81.6 billion for the period ended April 26, 2026, up 20% from the prior quarter and 85% from a year earlier. The company said GAAP diluted earnings per share were $2.39, while non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.87. (investor.nvidia.com) Data Center revenue was $75.2 billion, up 92% from a year earlier, according to the company’s earnings release. Under NVIDIA’s previous reporting structure, data-center compute revenue was $60.4 billion and networking revenue was $14.8 billion. ### Why is the $1 trillion figure getting so much attention? (investor.nvidia.com) Jensen Huang reiterated on the earnings call that NVIDIA sees a path to $1 trillion in Blackwell and Rubin revenue from 2025 through 2027, according to the company’s May 20 earnings transcript and reporting on the call. That figure matters because it stretches beyond a single quarter and ties NVIDIA’s current Blackwell ramp to the next Rubin generation. (investor.nvidia.com) The Motley Fool’s transcript of the call said Huang described Blackwell and Rubin as a multi-year revenue opportunity measured across the 2025-2027 period. NVIDIA had previously pointed investors to a large combined Blackwell-and-Rubin revenue opportunity through the end of calendar 2026, and the updated framing extends that window further. (fool.com) ### What did NVIDIA say about Vera Rubin and the next product cycle? NVIDIA said Vera Rubin systems will ship in the third quarter, giving investors a dated milestone for the company’s next platform after Blackwell. The company has been presenting Rubin as the successor architecture for AI training and inference workloads. (fool.com) In February, Huang said Vera Rubin samples had already shipped and production shipments were on track for the second half of 2026, according to NVIDIA’s prior earnings-call transcript. The May update narrowed that timeline to the third quarter. ### What did Huang mean by saying “tokens are profitable”? Huang said on the earnings call that AI had crossed a “critical threshold” and that “tokens are profitable,” according to Benzinga’s report on the remarks. (fool.com) The comment was a direct argument that customers are earning money from AI output, not only funding experimental deployments. (fool.com) NVIDIA’s earnings release made a related case in broader terms. Huang said “agentic AI has arrived,” is “doing productive work,” and is “generating real value” across companies and industries. ### Where does China fit into this quarter’s message? China remained part of NVIDIA’s outlook as Huang said the market is “very important” and “very large,” while noting that H200 shipments to China had been licensed, according to TheStreet’s report on the call. (fool.com) That comment pointed to continued efforts to serve Chinese demand within U.S. export-control limits. (investor.nvidia.com) NVIDIA has previously flagged geopolitical limits on China sales in earlier earnings commentary. The current update indicates the company still sees room to ship at least some products into the market, even as policy remains a constraint on its higher-end AI chips. (fool.com) ### What comes next for investors? The third quarter is the next product milestone because that is when NVIDIA said Vera Rubin systems will begin shipping. The company also said its higher quarterly dividend will be paid on June 26, 2026, to shareholders of record on June 4, 2026. (investor.nvidia.com 1) (investor.nvidia.com 2)

Key numbers

• NVIDIA on May 20 reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $81.6 billion, driven by data-center demand, while investors sent the shares lower.
• Jensen Huang reiterated a forecast for $1 trillion in Blackwell and Rubin revenue from 2025 through 2027 and said “tokens are profitable.” In the third quarter, NVIDIA said Vera Rubin systems will begin shipping, with H200 shipments to China licensed.
• NVIDIA reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $81.6 billion on May 20, with data-center sales rising to $75.2 billion as spending on AI infrastructure continued to climb.
• The Santa Clara, California, company also raised its quarterly dividend, authorized an additional $80 billion of share repurchases and said Vera Rubin systems would begin shipping in the third quarter.

What happens next

• NVIDIA reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $81.6 billion on May 20, with data-center sales rising to $75.2 billion as spending on AI infrastructure continued to climb.
• The Santa Clara, California, company also raised its quarterly dividend, authorized an additional $80 billion of share repurchases and said Vera Rubin systems would begin shipping in the third quarter.
• (investor.nvidia.com) Jensen Huang reiterated on the earnings call that NVIDIA sees a path to $1 trillion in Blackwell and Rubin revenue from 2025 through 2027, according to the company’s May 20 earnings transcript and reporting on the call.

Sources

• investor.nvidia.com
• fool.com
• fool.com
• investor.nvidia.com 2

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