Nvidia Q1 revenue $81.6B beats estimates as Data‑Center sales surge

Nvidia reported record fiscal first-quarter revenue of $81.6 billion on May 20, extending the company’s run of AI-driven growth as spending on data-center infrastructure stayed elevated. The company said revenue rose 85% from a year earlier and 20% from the prior quarter, while data-center revenue reached a record $75.2 billion, up 92% year over year. The results cleared analysts’ expectations cited by Reuters, but the stock reaction was restrained as investors focused on guidance, margins and China exposure after months of outsized gains in AI-linked names. CNBC reported that Chief Executive Jensen Huang also used the post-earnings discussion to say Nvidia had “largely conceded” China’s advanced AI chip market to Huawei. (investor.nvidia.com) The quarter also included a capital return move. Nvidia said it added $80 billion to its share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly cash dividend to $0.25 per share from $0.01 per share. ### How big was the data-center business this quarter? Nvidia said data-center revenue was $75.2 billion in the quarter ended April 26, 2026, accounting for the vast majority of total sales. (cnbc.com) The company described both total revenue and data-center revenue as records in its fiscal first-quarter release. The year-earlier comparison shows how much that business has expanded. (investor.nvidia.com) Nvidia reported data-center revenue of $39.1 billion in the comparable quarter a year earlier, meaning the latest quarter nearly doubled that base. ### Why did investors keep talking about China after a beat? Jensen Huang said in a CNBC interview published May 21 that Nvidia has “really largely conceded” China’s advanced AI chip market to Huawei. (investor.nvidia.com) He said demand in China remained large, but added that Huawei was “very, very strong” and that local chip companies were doing well “because we’ve evacuated that market.” CNBC reported that the Trump administration told Nvidia in April that it would need a license to export chips to China and several other countries. Huang said he had set expectations with analysts and investors to “expect nothing” on approvals for advanced chip sales into China. ### What does the China issue change for Nvidia’s story? China has been material to Nvidia’s data-center business before. (cnbc.com) CNBC said the Chinese market once accounted for at least one-fifth of Nvidia’s data-center revenue, making access to that market a live issue even as overall company sales keep rising. The company is still saying demand elsewhere is strong. (cnbc.com) Nvidia’s investor materials for the May 20 release said first-quarter revenue was a record and highlighted continued growth tied to AI infrastructure, while Huang said Nvidia would be “more than delighted” to serve China again if conditions changed. ### What else did Nvidia announce with earnings? (cnbc.com) Nvidia said on May 20 that it increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share and approved an additional $80 billion in share repurchases. Those announcements came alongside the earnings release and added to the scale of the quarter’s headline figures. The company scheduled its first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings call for May 20 at 2 p.m. (investor.nvidia.com) Pacific time and said the webcast replay, written CFO commentary and other materials would remain available on its investor relations site until the second-quarter call. ### Where do investors look next? (investor.nvidia.com) Nvidia said the quarter covered the period ended April 26, 2026, and the company’s next formal milestone will be its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results later this year on investor.nvidia.com. The first-quarter webcast page, financial reports page and related materials are already posted there for investors tracking guidance, segment trends and any further comments from Huang and CFO Colette Kress. (investor.nvidia.com)