Close Navigation
Learn more about IBKR accounts

How the AI Boom Could Be Nvidia’s “iPhone Moment”

Posted May 25, 2023
Ruholamin Haqshanas
The Tokenist

Nvidia has projected $11 billion in sales for the current quarter, far above Wall Street estimates of around $7.2 billion.

Nvidia’s stock soared on Thursday after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, beating analysts’ expectations regarding earnings and revenue. The company also provided a revenue forecast for the July quarter way above expectations, citing skyrocketing demand for its artificial intelligence chips with the generative AI boom.

AI Boom Could Mark Nvidia’s “iPhone Moment”

Thanks to the surging demand for its artificial intelligence chips, Nvidia expects record sales in the near term. The company has projected $11 billion in sales for the current quarter, far above the $7.2 billion Wall Street estimated and the highest quarterly total ever for the firm.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company is working on a new generation of advanced Nvidia chips for AI calculations in data centers to meet the surging demand. “We are significantly increasing our supply to meet surging demand for them,” he added. 

Analysts say Nvidia’s chips are essential to creating AI language-generating tools like ChatGPT. Since AI tools require vast amounts of data and enormous processing power, building just one AI system can require thousands of chips, which opens a huge new revenue opportunity for Nvidia — and could mark the company’s “iPhone moment.”

Huang said operators of big data centers are retooling their computing infrastructure to address better the opportunities offered by AI. He added:

“A trillion dollars of installed global data center infrastructure will transition from general-purpose to accelerated computing as companies race to apply generative AI into every product, service and business process.”

Nvidia Diversifies into AI to Expand its Userbase

Nvidia has inked partnerships with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to help them develop generative AI services. On Tuesday, the chipmaker also announced adding its AI software to Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing service to allow corporate customers to tap into the technology. 

Historically, Nvidia has primarily had roots in graphics-processing chips for video gaming, but it has broadened its customer base by diversification into AI and cryptocurrency mining. The surge in demand for its graphics chips by cryptocurrency miners caused severe supply shortages and price hikes last year, prompting the company to create specialized chips for these markets. 

More recently, the company’s AI chips helped its data center division surpass its gaming division in revenues. This has even prompted the chipmaker to offer a new generation of AI chips for data centers that promise a substantial performance upgrade.

Earlier this month, Nvidia announced the shipment of its DGX H100 systems. The product features eight H100 Tensor Core GPUs that are connected via NVLink, alongside dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8480C processors, 2TB of system memory, and 30 terabytes of NVMe SSD, the company said in a blog post.

The “iPhone moment,” derived from the explosive adoption of smartphones and phone apps, refers to a situation when an emerging technology disrupts as businesses pivot towards it. 

Nvidia Beats Wall Street Estimates in Q1

On Thursday, Nvidia released its earnings report for the year’s first quarter. The company reported $7.19 billion in revenue, compared to the expected $6.52 billion, beating estimates by a wide margin. 

Furthermore, the chip maker’s data center revenue was $4.28 million instead of the projected $3.9 billion. The company’s earnings and earnings per share were similarly impressive, beating the expected $0.92 and amounting to $1.09.

The strong first-quarter results follow a lukewarm performance throughout 2022 which saw its share price drop repeatedly on decreasing revenue. Part of the decline in revenue was a slowdown in demand for mining chips after Ethereum transitioned to a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

Originally Posted May 25, 2023 – How the AI Boom Could Be Nvidia’s “iPhone Moment”

Disclosure: Ruholamin Haqshanas has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned, and has no plans to initiate any positions within the 72 hours following the publishing of this article. This article expresses the opinions of Tim Fries. Tokenist Media LLC has no position in any of the stocks mentioned, and does not plan to initiate any positions within 72 hours of the publishing of this article. Please consult our website policy for more information.

Join The Conversation

If you have a general question, it may already be covered in our FAQs. If you have an account-specific question or concern, please reach out to Client Services.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclosure: The Tokenist

Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor prior to making financial decisions.

Disclosure: Interactive Brokers

Information posted on IBKR Campus that is provided by third-parties does NOT constitute a recommendation that you should contract for the services of that third party. Third-party participants who contribute to IBKR Campus are independent of Interactive Brokers and Interactive Brokers does not make any representations or warranties concerning the services offered, their past or future performance, or the accuracy of the information provided by the third party. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

This material is from The Tokenist and is being posted with its permission. The views expressed in this material are solely those of the author and/or The Tokenist and Interactive Brokers is not endorsing or recommending any investment or trading discussed in the material. This material is not and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any security. It should not be construed as research or investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security or commodity. This material does not and is not intended to take into account the particular financial conditions, investment objectives or requirements of individual customers. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.

Disclosure: Bitcoin Futures

TRADING IN BITCOIN FUTURES IS ESPECIALLY RISKY AND IS ONLY FOR CLIENTS WITH A HIGH RISK TOLERANCE AND THE FINANCIAL ABILITY TO SUSTAIN LOSSES. More information about the risk of trading Bitcoin products can be found on the IBKR website. If you're new to bitcoin, or futures in general, see Introduction to Bitcoin Futures.

IBKR Campus Newsletters

This website uses cookies to collect usage information in order to offer a better browsing experience. By browsing this site or by clicking on the "ACCEPT COOKIES" button you accept our Cookie Policy.