Nvidia reported another blockbuster quarter on Wednesday, posting record revenue of $81.6 billion for the first quarter ended April 26, 2026, as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continued to surge across the world.
The figure marks a 20% jump from the previous quarter and an eye-popping 85% surge compared to the same period last year. The results once again highlighted Nvidia’s dominance in the AI chip race, especially through its fast-growing data centre business, which now makes up the bulk of the company’s revenue.
Still, investors appeared cautious after the results. Nvidia shares briefly dropped more than 2% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
Nvidia’s data center business drives massive growth
Nvidia’s Data Center division brought in a record $75.2 billion during the quarter. That was up 21% from the previous quarter and 92% higher than a year ago. The business alone accounted for most of Nvidia’s total sales, as tech companies, cloud providers, and governments continue pouring billions into AI infrastructure.
The company’s latest Blackwell AI architecture and similar platforms have seen strong adoption from hyperscalers, enterprises, and sovereign AI projects around the world. Meanwhile, the company is also expanding beyond traditional data centers and is ready to go all-in on edge computing markets like automotive technology, robotics, and AI-powered PCs.
Earnings beat Wall Street expectations
Nvidia comfortably topped Wall Street expectations on both revenue and profit. The company posted revenue of $81.6 billion, beating analyst estimates of around $78.9 billion.
Its gross margin came in at 74.9%, while net income soared to $58.3 billion, or $2.39 per diluted share. On a non-GAAP basis, Nvidia reported earnings per diluted share of $1.87, ahead of analyst expectations of roughly $1.76 to $1.77.
For comparison, Nvidia had reported revenue of $44.1 billion in the same quarter last year. That earlier period had also been affected by a one-time $4.5 billion charge tied to US export restrictions on H20 chips being sold to China.
Jensen Huang says AI expansion is moving at historic speed
Jensen Huang said the AI revolution is now moving faster than ever as companies across industries race to build massive AI systems. “The buildout of AI factories, the largest infrastructure expansion in human history, is accelerating at extraordinary speed,” Huang said.
“Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value and scaling rapidly across companies and industries,” he added.
Nvidia raises dividend and expands share buyback plan
The company also announced major returns for shareholders during the quarter.
Nvidia said it returned nearly $20 billion through stock repurchases and dividends. Its board also approved an additional $80 billion share repurchase authorisation. At the same time, it has increased its quarterly cash dividend from $0.01 per share to $0.25 per share.
Strong outlooks for next quarter
Looking ahead, Nvidia forecasts second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of around $91 billion, plus or minus 2%. The company said its guidance does not include any Data Center compute revenue from China.
Nvidia also expects its gross margins to remain strong at roughly 75%. The latest results arrived at a time when expectations around the AI industry are extremely high. Even with competition growing and Nvidia already operating at massive scale, the company continues to deliver strong quarter-after-quarter growth.