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NVIDIA (NVDA) explained: how it makes money, how it's doing, what protects it

A plain-English guide to the company behind GeForce graphics chips and CUDA software. See what it sells, where the money goes, who it competes with and why customers find it hard to leave.

⚡What does NVIDIA do, in 30 seconds?

NVIDIA designs the chips, networking gear and software that data centers use to build and run AI 1. It also makes GeForce graphics chips for gamers 1. It sold $215.9bn ✓ in fiscal 2026, the year to January 2026. Data Center made up 90% ✓ of that.

Revenue, FY2026
$215.9bn✓
Profit, FY2026
$120.1bn✓
Sales growth, 4 quarters to 26 Jul 2026
83.4%✓
Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings; leases and stakes in other companies not counted), 26 Jul 2026
$23.2bn✓
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California 1
Employees
About 42,000 in 38 countries 12
CEO
Jensen Huang, co-founder, CEO since 1993 32
Founded
5 April 1993 30
CUDA developers
More than 7.5m 1
Fiscal year ends
Last Sunday in January 4

📱What does NVIDIA sell?

NVIDIA reported five lines of business in fiscal 2026 4. Data Center dwarfs the rest, at 90% ✓ of sales. Here is what each line sells and who buys it.

🖥️

Data Center

The chips and computer systems that train and run AI, usually sold as whole racks 1. In fiscal 2026 this line brought in $193.7bn ✓. It includes GPUs, Grace CPUs, NVLink and networking gear, plus software such as CUDA 1.

👥 Cloud providers, AI model makers, big companies, start-ups and public bodies, often buying through server makers 1.

🎮

Gaming

GeForce RTX graphics chips for desktop and laptop PCs, the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service, and chips for game consoles 1. Sales were $16.0bn ✓ in fiscal 2026.

👥 PC gamers, plus the companies that make game consoles 1.

🎨

Professional Visualization

RTX PRO graphics chips for workstations, tuned so design, engineering and video software runs well on them 1. Sales were $3.2bn ✓ in fiscal 2026.

👥 Designers, engineers and content creators who work on powerful workstations 1.

🚗

Automotive and Robotics

The DRIVE Hyperion platform for self-driving cars: DRIVE AGX computers, the DRIVE OS software, a set of sensors and driving software 1. NVIDIA's results release calls this line Automotive and Robotics 3. Sales were $2.3bn ✓ in fiscal 2026.

👥 Carmakers and their suppliers; NVIDIA builds DRIVE with several hundred car industry partners 1.

🔧

OEM and other

A small leftover line that NVIDIA reports apart from its four main markets 4. It brought in $0.6bn ✓ in fiscal 2026, less than 1% of NVIDIA's $215.9bn ✓ of sales.

👥 OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer, a firm that builds products using parts from other companies.

How the mix has shifted

Revenue mix by productFY2024Data Center: $47.5bn (78%)Data Center 78%Gaming: $10.4bn (17%)Gaming 17%Professional Visualization: $1.6bn (3%)Automotive and Robotics: $1.1bn (2%)OEM and other: $0.3bn (1%)FY2025Data Center: $115.2bn (88%)Data Center 88%Gaming: $11.4bn (9%)Gaming 9%Professional Visualization: $1.9bn (1%)Automotive and Robotics: $1.7bn (1%)OEM and other: $0.4bn (0%)FY2026Data Center: $193.7bn (90%)Data Center 90%Gaming: $16.0bn (7%)Professional Visualization: $3.2bn (1%)Automotive and Robotics: $2.3bn (1%)OEM and other: $0.6bn (0%)
Revenue mix by productFY24Data Center: $47.5bn (78%)78%Gaming: $10.4bn (17%)17%Professional Visualization: $1.6bn (3%)Automotive and Robotics: $1.1bn (2%)OEM and other: $0.3bn (1%)FY25Data Center: $115.2bn (88%)88%Gaming: $11.4bn (9%)Professional Visualization: $1.9bn (1%)Automotive and Robotics: $1.7bn (1%)OEM and other: $0.4bn (0%)FY26Data Center: $193.7bn (90%)90%Gaming: $16.0bn (7%)Professional Visualization: $3.2bn (1%)Automotive and Robotics: $2.3bn (1%)OEM and other: $0.6bn (0%)Data CenterGamingProfessional VisualizationAutomotive and RoboticsOEM and other
Share of revenue by business line, by fiscal year. Source: NVIDIA Corporation 10-K filed 2026-02-25.

Where the customers are

Most of NVIDIA's sales are booked in the United States, at 69% ✓ in fiscal 2026. Taiwan added 20% ✓ and China, including Hong Kong, 9% ✓. Many of NVIDIA's direct customers are server makers, system builders and distributors, not the final users of the chips 1.

Revenue by regionUnited States$149.6bn 69% of salesTaiwan$42.3bn 20% of salesChina (incl. Hong Kong)$19.7bn 9% of salesOther countries$4.3bn 2% of sales
Revenue by regionUnited States$149.6bn 69%Taiwan$42.3bn 20%China (incl. Hong Kong)$19.7bn 9%Other countries$4.3bn 2%
Revenue by region, FY2026. Source: NVIDIA Corporation 10-K filed 2026-02-25.

💸How does NVIDIA make money?

Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what customers pay for, what it costs to make, and what is left as profit.

Money map FY2026: how revenue turns into profitData Center → Revenue: $193.7bnGaming → Revenue: $16.0bnProfessional Visualization → Revenue: $3.2bnAutomotive and Robotics → Revenue: $2.3bnOEM and other → Revenue: $0.6bnRevenue → Gross profit: $153.5bnRevenue → Cost of sales: $62.5bnGross profit → Operating profit: $130.4bnGross profit → R&D: $18.5bnGross profit → Selling & admin: $4.6bnOperating profit → Net income: $109.0bnOperating profit → Income tax: $21.4bnOther income → Net income: $11.1bnData Center$193.7bn · 90%Gaming$16.0bn · 7%Professional Visualization$3.2bn · 1%Automotive and Robotics$2.3bn · 1%OEM and other$0.6bn · <1%Revenue$215.9bnGross profit$153.5bn · 71%Cost of sales$62.5bn · 29%Operating profit$130.4bn · 60%R&D$18.5bn · 9%Selling & admin$4.6bn · 2%Net income$120.1bn · 56%Income tax$21.4bn · 10%Other income$11.1bn · 5%
Money map FY2026: how revenue turns into profitData Center: $193.7bnGaming: $16.0bnProfessional Visualization: $3.2bnAutomotive and Robotics: $2.3bnOEM and other: $0.6bnData Center$193.7bn · 90%Gaming$16.0bn · 7%Professional Visualization$3.2bn · 1%Automotive and Robotics$2.3bn · 1%OEM and other$0.6bn · <1%Revenue: $215.9bnRevenue$215.9bn · 100%Gross profit: $153.5bnCost of sales: $62.5bnGross profit$153.5bn · 71%Cost of sales$62.5bn · 29%Operating profit: $130.4bnR&D: $18.5bnSelling & admin: $4.6bnOperating profit$130.4bn · 60%R&D$18.5bn · 9%Selling & admin$4.6bn · 2%Net income: $120.1bnIncome tax: $21.4bnNet income$120.1bn · 56%Income tax$21.4bn · 10%
Money map (a Sankey diagram): band widths are to scale. Hover a band for the amount. Source: NVIDIA Corporation 10-K filings.

NVIDIA sold $215.9bn ✓ of chips, systems and software in fiscal 2026. Making those products cost $62.5bn ✓. What is left is gross profit, the money kept after paying for what was sold. That came to $153.5bn ✓.

Next come the costs of running the company. Research and development took $18.5bn ✓, and sales, marketing and admin took $4.6bn ✓. What remains is operating profit, the profit from the main business, which was $130.4bn ✓. NVIDIA then added $11.1bn ✓ of other income from outside its main business. After tax of $21.4bn ✓, net income was $120.1bn ✓. Out of every hundred dollars of sales, NVIDIA kept about $56 ✓ as profit.

Out of every $100 customers paid in FY2026…

Making the products and services $29Research and development $8Selling and admin $2Income tax $10Profit kept $56Interest, investment gains and other income, added on top +$5

Interest, investment gains and other income added +$5 for every $100 of sales, so the slices above add up to a little more than $100.

💡
NVIDIA has turned into a data-center company. Data Center made up 90% ✓ of sales in fiscal 2026, up from 78% ✓ two years earlier. Gaming fell to 7% ✓ even though its sales still grew.

⏱️ NVIDIA by the clock

Spread the FY2026 totals evenly over its 364 days and you get this. Source: NVIDIA Corporation 10-K [5].

🛒
$593m
in sales every day
⏱️
$3,818
of profit every second
🔬
$51m
on research every day
🎁
$113m
handed to shareholders every day

📈How is NVIDIA doing?

NVIDIA is growing extremely fast. From FY2016 to FY2026, sales grew 45.7% ✓ a year on average. Sales rose in 9 ✓ of those 10 ✓ years. NVIDIA also kept more of each sale, as gross margin rose from 56.1% ✓ to 71.1% ✓. Operating margin reached 60.4% ✓ in fiscal 2026, so about three-fifths of sales became operating profit.

The latest four quarters, to 26 July 2026, were even bigger. Sales reached $303.0bn ✓, up 83.4% ✓ on the four quarters before. Operating margin climbed to 65.2% ✓, and free cash flow reached $127.0bn ✓. In the quarter to 26 July 2026 alone, revenue was $96.2bn, up 106% on a year earlier 31. NVIDIA holds its next results call on 17 November 2026 35. It expects revenue of about $108.0bn for that quarter 31.

📝 The report card

NVIDIA earns top marks for growth, profit and cash, a good mark for its balance sheet, and its lowest mark for steadiness. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where NVIDIA (orange) and its 5 peers land; further right is better.

A

Growth

Sales growth per year, last 3 fiscal years
100.0% · peer median 11.4%
#1 of 6 in the peer group
A ≥ 15.0%B ≥ 10.0%C ≥ 5.0%D ≥ 0.0%F below 0.0%

NVIDIA's sales grew 100.0% ✓ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns an A ✓ on the fixed scale. Broadcom also earns an A ✓ with 24.4% ✓, while the peer median is 11.4% ✓.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Growing sales is the engine of a business. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.

A

Profitability

Operating margin, last 3 years combined
60.1% · peer median 7.2%
#1 of 6 in the peer group
A ≥ 30.0%B ≥ 20.0%C ≥ 10.0%D ≥ 5.0%F below 5.0%

Over the last three years combined, NVIDIA kept 60.1% ✓ of sales as operating profit, an A ✓ by a wide margin. Broadcom, next best, kept 36.5% ✓, and the peer median is just 7.2% ✓.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Operating margin is the share of each sales dollar left after running the business. Software and platforms often clear 30%; hardware makers usually sit below 10%.

A

Cash generation

Free cash flow as a share of sales, last 3 years combined
45.3% · peer median 19.7%
#1 of 6 in the peer group
A ≥ 20.0%B ≥ 15.0%C ≥ 10.0%D ≥ 5.0%F below 5.0%

Over the last three years combined, NVIDIA turned 45.3% ✓ of sales into free cash flow, an A ✓. Broadcom is close behind at 42.3% ✓.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Free cash flow is the cash left after paying for factories, data centres and equipment. It funds dividends, buybacks and new bets.

B

Balance sheet

Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings; leases and stakes in other companies not counted) as a share of a year's sales
19.1% · peer median -17.3%
#2 of 6 in the peer group
A ≥ 20.0%B ≥ 5.0%C ≥ -10.0%D ≥ -30.0%F below -30.0%

NVIDIA's cash and the bonds it holds, minus its borrowings (leases and stakes in other companies not counted), came to $41.2bn ✓ at the end of fiscal 2026. That equalled 19.1% ✓ of fiscal 2026 sales, a B ✓. Only AMD scored higher, at 21.2% ✓. By 26 July 2026, NVIDIA's net cash was $23.2bn ✓.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

More cash than debt gives a company room to ride out bad years. Some debt is normal; a lot of it makes a company fragile.

F

Steadiness

How much yearly sales growth swings (standard deviation, up to 10 years)
43.5% · peer median 18.5%
#6 of 6 in the peer group
A ≤ 5.0%B ≤ 8.0%C ≤ 12.0%D ≤ 18.0%F above 18.0%

NVIDIA's yearly growth swings wildly, with a standard deviation of 43.5% ✓, which earns an F ✓. Growth ranged from -6.8% ✓ in FY2020 to 125.9% ✓ in FY2024, while Intel's figure is 10.2% ✓.

Why this measure? (lower is better)

Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean sales depend on product cycles, the economy or one-off events.

🧑‍🏫 How the grades work
  1. Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
  2. Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
  3. Peers for context. The rank shows how NVIDIA compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
  4. Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
  5. Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.

11 years at a glance

Revenue
$215.9bn
FY2026
Revenue by fiscal yearFY2016: $5.0bnFY2017: $6.9bnFY2018: $9.7bnFY2019: $11.7bnFY2020: $10.9bnFY2021: $16.7bnFY2022: $26.9bnFY2023: $27.0bnFY2024: $60.9bnFY2025: $130.5bnFY2026: $215.9bnFY2016FY2026
Operating margin
60.4%
FY2026
Operating marginFY2016FY2026
Free cash flow
$96.7bn
FY2026
Free cash flow by fiscal yearFY2016: $1.1bnFY2017: $1.5bnFY2018: $2.9bnFY2019: $3.1bnFY2020: $4.3bnFY2021: $4.7bnFY2022: $8.1bnFY2023: $3.8bnFY2024: $27.0bnFY2025: $60.9bnFY2026: $96.7bnFY2016FY2026
Net cash
$41.2bn
end of FY2026
Net cash by fiscal yearFY2016: $3.6bnFY2017: $4.8bnFY2018: $5.1bnFY2019: $5.4bnFY2020: $8.9bnFY2021: $4.6bnFY2022: $10.3bnFY2023: $2.3bnFY2024: $16.3bnFY2025: $34.7bnFY2026: $41.2bnFY2016FY2026

Where the cash goes

NVIDIA keeps more cash than it hands back. In fiscal 2026 it spent $41.1bn ✓ on buybacks and dividends, equal to 42% ✓ of its free cash flow. Over the 11 fiscal years from FY2016 to FY2026, payouts added up to $102.1bn ✓. That is less than half of the $214.1bn ✓ of free cash flow over the same years. In May 2026 NVIDIA raised its quarterly dividend from $0.01 to $0.25 a share and added $80.0bn to its buyback plan 28.

Free cash flow vs cash returned to shareholders$0bn$10bn$20bn$30bn$40bn$50bn$60bn$70bn$80bn$90bn$100bnFY2017 free cash flow $1.5bnFY2017 buybacks + dividends $1.0bnFY17FY2018 free cash flow $2.9bnFY2018 buybacks + dividends $1.3bnFY18FY2019 free cash flow $3.1bnFY2019 buybacks + dividends $2.0bnFY19FY2020 free cash flow $4.3bnFY2020 buybacks + dividends $0.4bnFY20FY2021 free cash flow $4.7bnFY2021 buybacks + dividends $0.4bnFY21FY2022 free cash flow $8.1bnFY2022 buybacks + dividends $0.4bnFY22FY2023 free cash flow $3.8bnFY2023 buybacks + dividends $10.4bnFY23FY2024 free cash flow $27.0bnFY2024 buybacks + dividends $9.9bnFY24FY2025 free cash flow $60.9bnFY2025 buybacks + dividends $34.5bnFY25FY2026 free cash flow $96.7bnFY2026 buybacks + dividends $41.1bnFY26
Free cash flow vs cash returned to shareholders$0bn$10bn$20bn$30bn$40bn$50bn$60bn$70bn$80bn$90bn$100bnFY2021 free cash flow $4.7bnFY2021 buybacks + dividends $0.4bnFY21FY2022 free cash flow $8.1bnFY2022 buybacks + dividends $0.4bnFY22FY2023 free cash flow $3.8bnFY2023 buybacks + dividends $10.4bnFY23FY2024 free cash flow $27.0bnFY2024 buybacks + dividends $9.9bnFY24FY2025 free cash flow $60.9bnFY2025 buybacks + dividends $34.5bnFY25FY2026 free cash flow $96.7bnFY2026 buybacks + dividends $41.1bnFY26
■ Free cash flow   ■ Buybacks + dividends. Source: NVIDIA Corporation 10-K filings.

🧮Ratios 101: what are NVIDIA's key financial ratios?

Ratios shrink NVIDIA's giant numbers into easy comparisons, and most of them show how far ahead of its peers its profits now are. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with NVIDIA's real FY2026 numbers, the peer median and the trend.

💰 Profitability: how much of each sale is kept?

Higher is better

Gross margin

71.1%
Gross profit$153.5bn$215.9bnSales=71.1%

What is left from each sale after paying to make the product or deliver the service.

👉 At 71.1% ✓, up from 56.1% ✓ in FY2016, NVIDIA is well above the 51.0% ✓ peer median. It slipped from 75.0% ✓ the year before. Fiscal 2026 included a $4.5bn charge for H20 chips meant for China, after new US export rules 4.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 40% usually signals pricing power or a big software or services mix.

Peer median 51.0% (5 peers)FY2016 56.1%
Gross margin by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Higher is better

Operating margin

60.4%
Operating profit$130.4bn$215.9bnSales=60.4%

What is left after also paying for research, marketing and running the company.

👉 NVIDIA's 60.4% ✓ is nearly four times the 16.1% ✓ peer median, and far above its own 14.9% ✓ of FY2016.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 20% is strong for a large company.

Peer median 16.1% (5 peers)FY2016 14.9%
Operating margin by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Higher is better

Net margin

55.6%
Net income$120.1bn$215.9bnSales=55.6%

The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of sales.

👉 NVIDIA keeps 55.6% ✓ of sales as final profit, against 12.3% ✓ in FY2016 and a 12.5% ✓ peer median. That includes $11.1bn ✓ of other income from outside the main business.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.

Peer median 12.5% (5 peers)FY2016 12.3%
Net margin by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
It depends

Return on equity (ROE)

76.3%
Net income$120.1bn$157.3bnShareholders' equity=76.3%

Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.

👉 ROE of 76.3% ✓, up from 13.7% ✓ in FY2016, is four times the 18.7% ✓ peer median. Equity is large, at $157.3bn ✓, so the high ROE comes from profit.

📏 Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.

Peer median 18.7% (5 peers)FY2016 13.7%
Return on equity (ROE) by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026

⚙️ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?

Higher is better

Return on assets (ROA)

58.1%
Net income$120.1bn$206.8bnTotal assets=58.1%

Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.

👉 ROA of 58.1% ✓, up from 8.3% ✓ in FY2016, dwarfs the 11.1% ✓ peer median. NVIDIA owns no chip factories 12.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 10% is strong; banks and factories usually earn less.

Peer median 11.1% (5 peers)FY2016 8.3%
Return on assets (ROA) by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Higher is better

Asset turnover

1.0x
Sales$215.9bn$206.8bnTotal assets=1.0x

Dollars of sales squeezed out of each dollar of assets.

👉 NVIDIA's sales are 1.0x ✓ the value of everything it owns, up from 0.7x ✓ in FY2016 and well above the 0.4x ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Retailers often top 2x; asset-heavy businesses can sit below 0.5x.

Peer median 0.4x (5 peers)FY2016 0.7x
Asset turnover by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Lower is better

Inventory days

125 days
Inventory$21.4bn$62.5bnCost of sales× 365=125 days

How many days of products sit in warehouses before they are sold.

👉 NVIDIA holds 125 ✓ days of stock, close to the peer median of 123 ✓ but up from 69 ✓ in FY2016, worth $21.4bn ✓ of stock.

📏 Rule of thumb: Fewer days means less cash tied up and less risk of products going stale.

Peer median 123 days (5 peers)FY2016 69 days
Inventory days by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026

🛟 Safety: could it survive a bad year?

It depends

Current ratio

3.9x
Current assets$125.6bn$32.2bnCurrent liabilities=3.9x

Can short-term assets (cash, money owed by customers, stock) pay the bills due within a year?

👉 At 3.9x ✓, up from 2.6x ✓ in FY2016, NVIDIA's short-term assets easily cover its bills, against a 2.0x ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 1.0x is the classic comfort line, but cash-rich giants can run below it on purpose.

Peer median 2.0x (5 peers)FY2016 2.6x
Current ratio by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Lower is better

Debt to equity

0.1x
Total debt$8.5bn$157.3bnShareholders' equity=0.1x

How much the company has borrowed for each dollar shareholders have in it.

👉 NVIDIA's 0.1x ✓ means very little debt, below the 0.4x ✓ peer median, though it sold $25.0bn of new bonds in the quarter to 26 July 2026 24.

📏 Rule of thumb: Below 1.0x is conservative. Like ROE, it can rise when buybacks shrink equity, even if debt has not changed.

Peer median 0.4x (5 peers)FY2016 0.3x
Debt to equity by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Higher is better

Interest cover

503.4x
Operating profit$130.4bn$0.3bnInterest expense=503.4x

How many times over operating profit could pay the year's interest bill.

👉 Operating profit covered interest 503.4x ✓, against 15.9x ✓ in FY2016 and a 7.9x ✓ peer median, so interest is a tiny cost.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 5x is comfortable; below 2x is a warning sign.

Peer median 7.9x (5 peers)FY2016 15.9x
Interest cover by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026

💵 Cash and owners: where does the money end up?

Higher is better

Cash conversion

0.8x
Free cash flow$96.7bn$120.1bnNet income=0.8x

Does reported profit turn into real cash? Free cash flow is operating cash minus capital spending.

👉 NVIDIA turned profit into free cash at 0.8x ✓, below the 1.4x ✓ peer median and the 1.8x ✓ of FY2016.

📏 Rule of thumb: Near or above 1.0x means profits are backed by cash.

Peer median 1.4x (4 peers)FY2016 1.8x
Cash conversion by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
It depends

R&D intensity

8.6%
R&D$18.5bn$215.9bnSales=8.6%

How much of each sales dollar goes into inventing future products.

👉 R&D is 8.6% ✓ of sales, down from 26.6% ✓ in FY2016 and below the 23.4% ✓ peer median, because sales grew even faster than R&D.

📏 Rule of thumb: Tech companies often spend 10% to 20%; more is not always better if it does not pay off.

Peer median 23.4% (5 peers)FY2016 26.6%
R&D intensity by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
Lower is better

Stock pay

3.0%
Share-based pay$6.4bn$215.9bnSales=3.0%

Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.

👉 Stock pay is 3.0% ✓ of sales, down from 4.1% ✓ in FY2016 and below the 6.3% ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Under 5% of sales is modest for a tech company.

Peer median 6.3% (5 peers)FY2016 4.1%
Stock pay by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026
It depends

Shareholder payout

34.2%
Dividends + buybacks$41.1bn$120.1bnNet income=34.2%

How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.

👉 NVIDIA returned 34.2% ✓ of fiscal 2026 profit, below the 71.4% ✓ peer median and far below 130.3% ✓ in FY2016, when profits were much smaller.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.

Peer median 71.4% (4 peers)FY2016 130.3%
Shareholder payout by fiscal yearFY2016FY2026

Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.

🥊Who are NVIDIA's competitors?

NVIDIA's rivals include AMD, Broadcom, Intel, Qualcomm and Marvell 1213 1415 161718 192021 2223. They compete with it for AI chips, networking gear, PC graphics and car computers 1213 1415 192021. Intel and Marvell are also its partners 161718 2223.

Peer map: growth vs profitability, bubble size = revenue-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%95%100%0%10%20%30%40%50%60%Sales growth per year, 3 years →Operating margin →NVIDIA: revenue $215.9bn, growth 100.0%/yr, operating margin 60.4%NVDABroadcom: revenue $63.9bn, growth 24.4%/yr, operating margin 39.9%AVGOIntel: revenue $52.9bn, growth -5.7%/yr, operating margin -4.2%INTCQualcomm: revenue $44.3bn, growth 0.1%/yr, operating margin 27.9%QCOMAMD: revenue $34.6bn, growth 13.6%/yr, operating margin 10.7%AMDMarvell Technology: revenue $8.2bn, growth 11.4%/yr, operating margin 16.1%MRVL
Peer map: growth vs profitability, bubble size = revenue-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%95%100%0%10%20%30%40%50%60%Sales growth per year, 3 years →Operating margin →NVIDIA: revenue $215.9bn, growth 100.0%/yr, operating margin 60.4%NVDABroadcom: revenue $63.9bn, growth 24.4%/yr, operating margin 39.9%AVGOIntel: revenue $52.9bn, growth -5.7%/yr, operating margin -4.2%INTCQualcomm: revenue $44.3bn, growth 0.1%/yr, operating margin 27.9%QCOMAMD: revenue $34.6bn, growth 13.6%/yr, operating margin 10.7%AMDMarvell Technology: revenue $8.2bn, growth 11.4%/yr, operating margin 16.1%MRVL
Peer map from each company's latest 10-K. Bubble size = revenue. Source: SEC filings [5] [7] [6] [8] [9] [10].
CompanyWhere they competeRevenueGrowth/yr (3y)Op. marginFCF margin
NVIDIA (NVDA, FY2026)AI chips, networking, full AI computer racks and gaming graphics 1 1$215.9bn100.0%60.4%44.8%
AMD (AMD, FY2025)Data-center AI GPUs with its own ROCm software, and PC graphics chips 1213$34.6bn13.6%10.7%19.4%
Broadcom (AVGO, FY2025)Custom AI chips built to customers' designs, and Ethernet switch chips for data centers 1415$63.9bn24.4%39.9%42.1%
Intel (INTC, FY2025)Chips for AI data centers; also a partner, after NVIDIA bought $5.0bn of new Intel shares to co-develop x86 products 161718$52.9bn-5.7%-4.2%-9.4%
Qualcomm (QCOM, FY2025)Car computing platforms and data-center AI products 192021$44.3bn0.1%27.9%28.9%
Marvell Technology (MRVL, FY2026)Custom AI chips for cloud firms and the links between chips; also a partner, with a $2bn NVIDIA stake 2223$8.2bn11.4%16.1%17.0%

Big cloud firms such as Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba and Baidu design their own AI chips, so NVIDIA counts them as rivals 12. NVIDIA says being shut out of China's data-center market helped rivals build bigger ecosystems 4. In December 2025 NVIDIA licensed Groq's language processing unit technology and hired some of its staff 4.

🧭NVIDIA SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

💪 Strengths

  • NVIDIA designs its GPUs, CPUs, networking and software to work as one system, usually sold as whole racks 1.
  • More than 7.5m developers use CUDA and NVIDIA's other tools 1.
  • All the major cloud providers are NVIDIA customers 1.
  • Over the last three years combined, NVIDIA kept 60.1% ✓ of sales as operating profit, an A ✓ on our report card.

🩹 Weaknesses

  • A few buyers matter a lot: in the first half of fiscal 2027, three direct customers made up 16%, 15% and 13% of revenue 25.
  • It relies on outside foundries such as TSMC and Samsung to make its chips 12, and its supply chain is mainly in Asia 12.
  • At the end of fiscal 2026, NVIDIA said it was effectively shut out of China's data-center chip market 4.
  • In August 2026 NVIDIA agreed to guarantee lease values at a data-center campus in Ohio, with its payments for this first commitment capped at $105bn 26.

🚀 Opportunities

  • Vera Rubin, its next data-center platform, began shipping between August and October 2026 25.
  • NVIDIA designed Rubin to cut the cost of each AI token by up to 10 times compared with Blackwell 1.
  • Oracle plans to grow its cloud with Vera Rubin systems to multi-gigawatt scale 27.
  • Sales to AI clouds, industry and businesses, a group NVIDIA calls ACIE, grew 138% in the quarter to July 2026 24 28.
  • NVIDIA agreed to buy Hugging Face, a platform for sharing open AI models 29.

⚠️ Threats

  • Cloud firms design their own AI chips 12, Broadcom and Marvell build custom ones for them 1415 2223, and AMD sells rival AI GPUs 1213.
  • After new US export rules, NVIDIA took a $4.5bn charge on H20 chips meant for China in fiscal 2026 4.
  • China's competition regulator preliminarily found in September 2025 that NVIDIA broke the terms of its Mellanox deal approval 25.
  • Competition regulators in the EU, US, UK, China and South Korea have asked NVIDIA about its sales, supply and deals 25.

🏰Does NVIDIA have a moat?

Wide moatCUDA, a huge developer base and full-rack systems make NVIDIA hard to leave, though China and regulators are weak spots.
Brand 4/5
Why 4?

NVIDIA sells GeForce RTX chips to PC gamers 1, and AMD's annual report calls NVIDIA the market share leader in standalone graphics chips 1213. Its products earn rich margins: NVIDIA keeps 71.1% ✓ of sales after making them, against a 51.0% ✓ peer median. Still, NVIDIA lists speed, software support, pricing and total system cost as the main ways it competes, and brand is not on that list 12.

Switching costs 4/5
Why 4?

CUDA runs on every NVIDIA GPU and comes with hundreds of ready-made software libraries 1. Customers buy whole racks where the GPU, CPU, networking and software are designed as one system 1. Every major cloud provider is a customer 1. But big cloud firms also design their own AI chips 12.

Network effects 4/5
Why 4?

More than 7.5m developers use CUDA and NVIDIA's other tools 1. NVIDIA says more developers and more installed chips make its platform more valuable to customers 1. But NVIDIA says being shut out of China has helped rivals build bigger developer and customer ecosystems 4.

Cost advantages and scale 4/5
Why 4?

NVIDIA buys on a huge scale: its supply commitments rose to $279bn in the quarter to 26 July 2026, mainly for memory 24. It has invested over $76.7bn in R&D since it began 1. Still, outside foundries such as TSMC and Samsung make its chips 12, and its supply chain is mostly in Asia 12.

Intangibles (patents, licences, regulation) 3/5
Why 3?

NVIDIA relies on patents, which expire between 2026 and 2045, plus trade secrets 12. Regulation hurts more than it helps. China's regulator preliminarily found that NVIDIA broke the terms of a past deal approval 25. A $4.5bn charge on H20 chips followed new US export rules 4. Regulators in several countries are also asking questions 25.

A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is NVIDIA; grey dots are peers).

🔭What should you watch next?

17 Nov 2026

Q3 FY2027 results

NVIDIA reports the quarter that ended on 25 October 2026 35. Vera Rubin began shipping in that quarter 25. NVIDIA expects revenue of about $108.0bn 31. Figures on this page run to FY2026 and the four quarters to 26 July 2026.

From FY2027

New way of reporting sales

NVIDIA now reports two markets: Data Center, split into Hyperscale and ACIE, and Edge Computing 28. Edge Computing takes in PCs, game consoles, workstations, robots and cars, so FY2027 will look different from this page 28. In the quarter to 26 July 2026, Data Center made $89.0bn and Edge Computing $7.2bn 31.

1 Dec 2026 keynote

GTC Washington, D.C.

NVIDIA's conference runs from 30 November to 3 December 2026, with the keynote on 1 December 36.

Ends late January 2027

A longer fiscal year

FY2027 will be a 53-week year, with a 14-week fourth quarter 4. That makes it one week longer than fiscal 2026, which had 52 weeks 4.

First half of 2027 (expected)

Hugging Face deal

NVIDIA agreed to buy the open-model platform for about $11.9bn 29. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulators 29. NVIDIA promised to keep the platform open to other chipmakers 29.

Ongoing

China and export rules

The US has licensed small amounts of H200 sales to some China-based buyers, but China restricted the purchases 25. NVIDIA's outlook assumes no data-center compute revenue from China 31.

Ongoing

Competition regulators

China's regulator has made a preliminary finding against NVIDIA over a past deal 25. Regulators in the EU, US, UK and South Korea have also asked it for information 25.

📚Learn the words

GPUA graphics processing unit, a chip that does thousands of small sums at once. First built for video games, it is now widely used for AI work.
Data centerA big building full of computers that run websites, apps and AI for many users at once.
CUDANVIDIA's software platform that lets programmers use its GPUs for general jobs like AI, not only graphics.
FablessA chip company that designs its chips but pays another firm, such as TSMC, to make them.
Revenue (sales)All the money a company takes in from customers before paying any costs.
Gross marginThe share of each sales dollar left after paying to make the product. Higher means each sale is more profitable.
Operating profitProfit from the main business after paying for products, research, marketing and admin, but before interest and tax.
Free cash flowThe cash a business has left after running itself and buying equipment. It can be used for dividends, buybacks or saving.
Export controlsGovernment rules that limit which products can be sold to which countries, often for security reasons.
Fiscal yearA company's own 12-month accounting year. NVIDIA's ends in late January, so fiscal 2026 ended in January 2026.
Economic moatA lasting advantage, like a strong brand or high switching costs, that keeps rivals from taking a company's customers.
RatioOne number divided by another, such as profit divided by sales. Ratios let you compare companies of very different sizes.

❓Frequently asked questions about NVIDIA

How does NVIDIA make money?

NVIDIA makes most of its money selling AI chips and systems to data centers. In fiscal 2026, Data Center brought in $193.7bn ✓ of its $215.9bn ✓ in sales. Gaming, workstations, cars and a small other line make up the rest.

Does NVIDIA make its own chips?

No, NVIDIA is fabless: it designs chips but does not make them 12. Foundries such as TSMC and Samsung make its chip wafers, and it buys memory from SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung 12.

What is CUDA and why does it matter?

CUDA is NVIDIA's software platform for programming its GPUs, launched in 2006 130. It runs on every NVIDIA GPU and comes with hundreds of software libraries 1. More than 7.5m developers use CUDA and NVIDIA's other tools 1.

Can NVIDIA sell AI chips in China?

Barely. The US has licensed small amounts of H200 sales, but China restricted the purchases. H200 shipments were under 1% of Data Center revenue in the quarter to 26 July 2026 25. NVIDIA's outlook assumes no data-center compute revenue from China 31.

Who are NVIDIA's biggest customers?

NVIDIA's main buyers are cloud providers, AI model makers and the server makers that build systems for them 1. In the first half of fiscal 2027, three direct customers made up 16%, 15% and 13% of revenue 25.

Is NVIDIA still a gaming company?

Gaming is still a big business, but it is now a small part of NVIDIA. Gaming sales were $16.0bn ✓ in fiscal 2026, just 7% ✓ of the total.

Who runs NVIDIA?

Jensen Huang, who co-founded NVIDIA in 1993, has been its CEO ever since 32. Nicholas Parker, who spent 26 years at Microsoft, was due to start as head of worldwide field operations on 24 August 2026 33.

Why will NVIDIA's next results look different?

From FY2027, NVIDIA reports just two markets: Data Center and Edge Computing 28. Edge Computing groups PCs, game consoles, workstations, cars and robots 28.

🎮Play: higher or lower, then test yourself

Higher or lower · round 1 of 6

Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [5] [7] [6] [8] [9] [10].

Score: 0

🧠 Test yourself

5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5

1. About how much of NVIDIA's fiscal 2026 sales came from Data Center?

Data Center made up 90% ✓ of NVIDIA's sales in fiscal 2026.

2. Who makes the chips that NVIDIA designs?

NVIDIA is fabless: foundries such as TSMC and Samsung make its chips 12.

3. What is CUDA?

CUDA, launched in 2006, opened NVIDIA GPUs to general computing jobs, not just graphics 130.

4. In what year was NVIDIA founded?

Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem founded NVIDIA on 5 April 1993 30.

5. Of NVIDIA's roughly 42,000 staff, about how many work in research and development?

About 31,000 of NVIDIA's 42,000 staff work in research and development 12.

🔎Sources and method

Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked ✓). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.

  1. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026 (year to 2026-01-25), filed 2026-02-25, Item 1 Business — Headquarters, incorporation, four markets and their products and customers, CUDA platform and developers, R&D since inception, GPU (1999) and CUDA (2006) (accessed 2026-10-29)
  2. NVIDIA (NVDA) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2026, filed 2026-02-25 — revenue by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
  3. NVIDIA 8-K Ex.99.1, Q4 and FY2026 results press release, 2026-02-25 — Automotive and Robotics highlights; DGX Spark (accessed 2026-10-29)
  4. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026, Item 1A Risk Factors and Notes to the financial statements — Customer concentration, China data-center foreclosure, H20 charge, fiscal year and 53-week FY2027, Groq licence (Note 2), revenue by end market (accessed 2026-10-29)
  5. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: NVIDIA (NVDA) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  6. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  7. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC (AMD) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  8. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: INTEL CORP (INTC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  9. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: QUALCOMM INC/DE (QCOM) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  10. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Marvell Technology, Inc. (MRVL) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  11. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: NVIDIA (NVDA) — balance sheet at 2026-07-26 (accessed 2026-10-28)
  12. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026, Item 1 Business: Competition, Manufacturing, Patents, Human Capital — Named competitors, principal competitive factors, foundries and memory suppliers, patent expiry dates, employees (accessed 2026-10-29)
  13. AMD Form 10-K FY2025 (year to 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04, Item 1 Business: Competition and products — AMD names Nvidia as a main Data Center and discrete graphics competitor; Instinct MI350 GPUs; ROCm (accessed 2026-10-29)
  14. NVIDIA Form 10-K, fiscal year 2026 (ended 2026-01-25): business and competition — NVIDIA networking products (InfiniBand and Ethernet switches, adapters); competitors named include Broadcom (accessed 2026-10-29)
  15. Broadcom Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-11-02): Item 1 Business — Incorporation and HQ; fiscal year convention; history and acquisitions; segments, products and customers; custom silicon platform; competition factors; patents; employees and attrition (accessed 2026-10-29)
  16. Intel 10-K for fiscal 2025 (Business: DCAI overview and competition) — Data Center and AI products, customers and competitors (accessed 2026-10-29)
  17. Intel 10-K for fiscal 2025 (MD&A: US government agreement, private placements, Altera) — US Department of Commerce shares and warrant; SoftBank and NVIDIA share purchases; Altera sale terms (accessed 2026-10-29)
  18. Intel 8-K, 18 September 2025 (NVIDIA securities purchase agreement) — NVIDIA agreement to buy $5.0 billion of Intel common stock; product collaboration (accessed 2026-10-29)
  19. Qualcomm Form 10-K FY2025: Item 1A Risk Factors — Apple expected to use its own modems; customers building own chips; Huawei export licence revoked May 2024; named competitors; brand recognition in computing (accessed 2026-10-29)
  20. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026 (FYE 2026-01-25), filed 2026-02-25: Competition — Names Qualcomm among suppliers of SoC products for servers, cars and autonomous machines (accessed 2026-10-29)
  21. Qualcomm Form 10-K FY2025 (FYE 2025-09-28), filed 2025-11-05: Item 1 Business — Incorporation, fiscal year, segments (QCT, QTL, QSI, QGOV, Data Center), products, fabless model, foundries, licensing model, customers of 10% or more, workforce, executive officers (accessed 2026-10-29)
  22. Marvell Technology Form 10-K, fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, filed 2026-03-11 (Item 1, Competition) — Named direct competitors, customers designing chips in-house, pricing pressure (accessed 2026-10-29)
  23. Marvell Technology Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1, joint press release with NVIDIA, dated 2026-03-31 — NVLink Fusion partnership; NVIDIA $2 billion investment; roles of each company (accessed 2026-10-29)
  24. NVIDIA 8-K Ex.99.2, CFO Commentary Q2 FY2027, 2026-08-26 — ACIE growth; supply commitments; senior notes issued; China Hopper shipments (accessed 2026-10-29)
  25. NVIDIA Form 10-Q Q2 FY2027 (period to 2026-07-26), filed 2026-08-26 — Vera Rubin shipment start; H200 China licences and charge; China antitrust preliminary finding; regulator information requests; customer concentration (accessed 2026-10-29)
  26. NVIDIA 8-K Items 1.01 and 2.03, SB Energy PORTS Technology Campus partnership, filed 2026-08-17 — Residual value guaranties for about 4.25 GW in Pike County, Ohio; $105bn cap; tenant (accessed 2026-10-29)
  27. NVIDIA newsroom: NVIDIA and Oracle expand Vera Rubin to multi-gigawatt scale (2026-10-27) — Oracle Cloud plans for Vera Rubin NVL72 systems (accessed 2026-10-29)
  28. NVIDIA 8-K Ex.99.1, Q1 FY2027 results press release, 2026-05-20 — New reporting framework (Data Center: Hyperscale and ACIE; Edge Computing); dividend raise; added buyback authorisation (accessed 2026-10-29)
  29. NVIDIA 8-K Item 8.01, agreement to acquire Hugging Face, filed 2026-09-03 — Deal date, price, expected closing, open-platform commitment (accessed 2026-10-29)
  30. NVIDIA corporate timeline (nvidia.com) — Founding date and founders; GPU 1999; CUDA 2006 (accessed 2026-10-29)
  31. NVIDIA 8-K Ex.99.1, Q2 FY2027 results press release, 2026-08-26 — Q2 FY2027 revenue and market platforms; Vera Rubin in full production; Q3 FY2027 revenue outlook (accessed 2026-10-29)
  32. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026, Information About Our Executive Officers — Jen-Hsun (Jensen) Huang co-founder, President and CEO since inception (accessed 2026-10-29)
  33. NVIDIA 8-K Item 5.02, head of worldwide field operations change, filed 2026-07-02 — Ajay Puri retirement; Nicholas Parker appointment (accessed 2026-10-29)
  34. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: NVIDIA (NVDA) — quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  35. NVIDIA investor relations: NVIDIA Sets Conference Call for Third-Quarter Financial Results — Q3 FY2027 results call date; quarter end date (accessed 2026-10-29)
  36. NVIDIA GTC Washington, D.C. 2026 event page — Conference dates and keynote date (accessed 2026-10-29)