Nvidia shares surged on Wednesday, closing at a record high for the first time since January, as investors expressed confidence in the company’s prospects in artificial intelligence. This rally occurred despite ongoing concerns about export controls affecting its access to the Chinese market. The stock finished at $154.31, surpassing its previous high of $149.43 on January 6. Nvidia is a technology company specialising in graphics processing units (GPUs) and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, essential components for modern computing and data centres. It designs and manufactures hardware and software products used across various industries.
The surge comes even though Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated in May that the $50 billion Chinese market is effectively closed to U.S. industry. New rules imposed by the Trump administration have cut off sales of the company’s H20 AI processor, which was developed to meet earlier restrictions. Nvidia reported last month that these changes would result in an $8 billion hit to sales, necessitating a $4.5 billion inventory write-off.
Despite these challenges, Nvidia’s recent earnings report showcased substantial growth. In May, the company announced a 69% year-over-year revenue increase, driven by a 73% surge in its data centre business. Analysts are projecting a 53% revenue growth for the full fiscal year, potentially reaching nearly $200 billion, according to LSEG.
At Nvidia’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Huang highlighted robotics as the company’s most significant growth opportunity outside of AI. The company is currently worth $3.77 trillion, overtaking Microsoft as the largest company by market capitalisation.
