Nvidia Q1 2027 Earnings Beat

CNBC reported Wednesday that Nvidia delivered another blowout quarter, posting fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $81.62 billion. That figure beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $78.86 billion. The chipmaker’s revenue surged 85% compared to the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share landed at $1.87, ahead of the $1.76 analysts had projected.

Nvidia Earnings Blow Past Expectations

Net income more than doubled from a year earlier, rising to $42.96 billion from $18.8 billion. Free cash flow also climbed sharply, reaching $48.6 billion for the quarter. That compares to $34.9 billion the prior quarter and $26.1 billion a year ago. Gross margin held steady at 75%, meeting analyst forecasts and improving from an adjusted 71.3% a year prior.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the current moment as a historic infrastructure shift. He said AI factories represent the largest infrastructure expansion in human history and that the pace is accelerating. He added that agentic AI is now generating real economic value across industries at scale.

Guidance Points to an Even Bigger Quarter Ahead

Nvidia’s forward outlook was equally striking. The company projected second-quarter revenue of approximately $91 billion. That sits well above the $86.84 billion average estimate compiled by LSEG. Nvidia noted the outlook excludes any contribution from data center compute sales into China. Gross margin is expected to remain flat at around 75% in the current quarter.

Buyback Plan Expands as Shareholder Returns Jump

The company’s board approved a new $80 billion share repurchase authorization. That dwarfs the $60 billion buyback Nvidia authorized last August. The company also raised its quarterly cash dividend sharply, lifting the per-share payment to 25 cents from just 1 cent previously. Nvidia’s dividend program dates to 2013, though the scale of the new commitment marks a notable escalation.

Background: Blackwell Demand and the Race to Vera Rubin

Nvidia’s current Grace Blackwell rack-scale AI system has driven much of the recent revenue surge. Attention is now shifting to its next platform, Vera Rubin, which CNBC gained exclusive access to earlier this year. Rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices is expected to begin shipping its own competing rack-scale system, Helios, later in 2026. That competition marks the most direct challenge yet to Nvidia’s dominance in AI infrastructure hardware. Nvidia shares were little changed in after-hours trading following the release despite the headline beats.

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