Nvidia Corp. NVDA, which had a modest start as a maker of gaming chips in April 1993, has grown by leaps and bounds and has attained the status as the world’s most-valued corporation, relegating biggies such as Apple and Microsoft behind.
What Happened: Nvidia ended Tuesday’s session at $135.58, up 3.51%, according to Benzinga Pro data. This gave the Jensen Huang-led company a market cap of $3.33 trillion compared to Microsoft’s $3.317 trillion and Apple’s $3.286 trillion. Nvidia’s shares have been on a tear since the advent of the AI revolution in early 2023 following the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.
Ahead of this, Nvidia has a so-so year as most growth-focused stocks swooned amid fears of a higher interest-rate environment thwarting demand for their products and services and the inflationary environment pushing up their costs.
The Nvidia stock fell a little over 50% in 2022 only to bounce back stronger in 2023 as the rising AI tide lifted all boats levered to the technology. It soared 240% in 2023, with the stock surge coming back on profound improvement in fundamentals. The momentum carried forward into 2024, with the year-to-date gains currently at about 174%.
For the first quarter, Nvidia reported 262% year-over-year revenue growth and 461% earnings per share growth. The company’s clout reflects its frontrunner status in the market for high-performance AI accelerators and its full suite of solutions, including hardware, software stack, and services.
Nvidia’s clout in the stock market is exemplified by a comment by Lumida Wealth’s Ram Ahluwalia. The wealth manager blamed Nvidia’s strength for the weakness in not only other tech stocks but also stocks of fundamentally sound companies belonging to other sectors.
See Also: Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks
The latest feat sent social media into a frenzy. An amateur trader and YouTube said in an X post, “This is Jensen Huang's world, we just get to live in it.”
Did Nvidia Make You A Millionaire? Here’s a look at a hypothetical situation of an investor making a million with their Nvidia bet made at the start of 2023.
To achieve a seven-figure investment, you would need approximately 7,375.72 shares. Acquiring these shares during the last trading session of 2022 would have cost you $107,759.26, based on the split-adjusted price of $14.61 per share at that time.
In other words, Nvidia has generated roughly 830% return since end-2022.
Way Forward: Just as the Fed rate is poised to remain higher for longer, analysts see Nvidia shares staying higher for longer. Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster sees the AI revolution lasting at least three to five years, and at least until then, Nvidia can outshine others.
The company’s proactiveness with regard to the launch of new high-performance chips makes it difficult for competitors to catch up, likely supporting further upside in the stock.
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© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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