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NVIDIA Corp.: Q4 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 25 February 2026: press release, CFO commentary. Guidance figures: 4 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Record fourth-quarter revenue reached $68.1 billion: Revenue was $68.1 billion, up 20% from the third quarter and 73% from a year ago. Fiscal 2026 revenue was $215.9 billion, up 65% from the prior year. Source
  • Data Center revenue reached $62.3 billion: Data Center revenue was $62.3 billion, up 22% sequentially and 75% from a year ago, driven by accelerated computing and AI. Source
  • Networking revenue more than tripled: Networking revenue was $11.0 billion, up 34% sequentially and 263% from a year ago, from the NVLink fabric ramp and Ethernet and InfiniBand growth. Source
  • Gross margin rose 1.6 points sequentially: GAAP gross margin was 75.0% and non-GAAP 75.2%. Management tied the sequential rise to Blackwell's improved mix and cost structure; the year-over-year rise reflected lower inventory provisions. Source
  • Inventory and supply commitments increased: Inventory was $21.4 billion, up from $19.8 billion in the third quarter. Total supply-related commitments were $95.2 billion. Source
  • Operating cash flow reached $36.2 billion: Operating cash flow was $36.2 billion, up from $23.8 billion in the third quarter and $16.6 billion a year ago. Cash, equivalents and marketable securities were $62.6 billion. Source
  • Quarterly shareholder returns of $4.1 billion: The company returned $4.1 billion in the quarter: $3.8 billion of repurchases and $243 million of dividends. Fiscal 2026 returns totaled $41.1 billion. Source

“Computing demand is growing exponentially - the agentic AI inflection point has arrived.”

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Revenue SourceFirst quarter of fiscal 2027$78.0 billion, plus or minus 2%New
Gross margin SourceFirst quarter of fiscal 2027GAAP 74.9%; non-GAAP 75.0%; plus or minus 50 basis pointsNew
Operating expenses SourceFirst quarter of fiscal 2027GAAP about $7.7 billion; non-GAAP about $7.5 billion, including $1.9 billion of stock-based compensationNew
Tax rate SourceFull fiscal 202717.0% to 19.0%, for GAAP and non-GAAPNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 covering revenue, gross margin and operating expenses was given; the prior release gave fourth-quarter guidance. Source
  • New guidance: A full-year fiscal 2027 tax rate range was given; the prior release gave a tax rate for the fourth quarter only. Source
  • New: Non-GAAP financial measures will include stock-based compensation expense from the first quarter of fiscal 2027, a change from prior periods. Source
  • New: A multiyear, multigenerational strategic partnership with Meta was announced, covering on-premises, cloud and AI infrastructure. Source
  • New: An investment and deep technology partnership with Anthropic was announced; the prior release described Anthropic running on NVIDIA infrastructure. Source
  • New: A non-exclusive licensing agreement with Groq was entered into to accelerate AI inference at global scale. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Record fourth-quarter revenue reached $68.1 billion: Revenue was $68.1 billion, up 20% from the third quarter and 73% from a year ago. Fiscal 2026 revenue was $215.9 billion, up 65% from the prior year. Source
  • Diluted EPS rose to $1.76: GAAP diluted EPS was $1.76 and non-GAAP $1.62, against $1.30 in the third quarter and $0.89 a year ago. Fiscal 2026 EPS was $4.90 GAAP and $4.77 non-GAAP. Source
  • Data Center revenue reached $62.3 billion: Data Center revenue was $62.3 billion, up 22% sequentially and 75% from a year ago, driven by accelerated computing and AI. Source

Segments and regions

  • Compute and Networking grew 21% sequentially: Compute & Networking revenue was $61.7 billion, up 21% sequentially and 71% from a year ago. Graphics revenue was $6.5 billion, up 6% sequentially and 97% from a year ago. Source
  • Gaming fell sequentially after holiday season: Gaming revenue was $3.7 billion, up 47% from a year ago and down 13% sequentially as channel inventory moderated after holiday demand. Source
  • Professional Visualization revenue up 74%: Professional Visualization revenue was $1.3 billion, up 74% sequentially and 159% from a year ago, on demand for Blackwell. Source
  • Automotive revenue rose modestly: Automotive revenue was $604 million, up 2% sequentially and 6% from a year ago, on continued adoption of self-driving platforms. Source

“Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute - the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth.”

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA

Products and customers

  • Hyperscalers stayed largest customer group: Hyperscaler revenue rose and remained the largest category at slightly over 50% of Data Center revenue, while other Data Center customers led growth. Source
  • Networking revenue more than tripled: Networking revenue was $11.0 billion, up 34% sequentially and 263% from a year ago, from the NVLink fabric ramp and Ethernet and InfiniBand growth. Source
  • Compute revenue rose 19% sequentially: Data Center compute revenue was $51.3 billion, a record, up 58% from a year ago and 19% sequentially. Source
  • Rubin platform introduced with six chips: The Rubin platform, comprising six new chips, was unveiled; management says it delivers up to a 10x reduction in inference token cost versus Blackwell. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Gross margin rose 1.6 points sequentially: GAAP gross margin was 75.0% and non-GAAP 75.2%. Management tied the sequential rise to Blackwell's improved mix and cost structure; the year-over-year rise reflected lower inventory provisions. Source
  • Fiscal gross margin fell from 2025: Fiscal 2026 gross margin was 71.1% GAAP and 71.3% non-GAAP, against 75.0% and 75.5% in fiscal 2025. Source
  • Operating expenses up 45% year over year: GAAP operating expenses were $6.8 billion, up 45% from a year ago and 16% sequentially. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $5.1 billion, up 51% and 21%. Source
  • Sequential spend tied to product launches: The sequential increase reflected engineering development materials for new product introductions, plus compute and infrastructure costs. Source
  • Other income of $5.6 billion from equity gains: Net other income was $5.6 billion, mainly unrealized gains on non-marketable and publicly-held equity securities, including the Intel investment. Source
  • Tax rate up on smaller SBC tax benefit: The GAAP effective tax rate was 14.8% for the quarter and 15.1% for fiscal 2026, up from a year ago mainly on lower stock-based compensation tax benefits. Source

Demand and the order book

  • Inventory and supply commitments increased: Inventory was $21.4 billion, up from $19.8 billion in the third quarter. Total supply-related commitments were $95.2 billion. Source
  • Cloud service commitments rose to $27.0B: Multi-year cloud service agreements were $27.0 billion, up from $26.0 billion in the third quarter, to support research and development efforts. Source
  • Capacity secured beyond several quarters: Management said inventory and capacity have been secured to meet demand beyond the next several quarters. Source

Capital, cash and returns to shareholders

  • Operating cash flow reached $36.2 billion: Operating cash flow was $36.2 billion, up from $23.8 billion in the third quarter and $16.6 billion a year ago. Cash, equivalents and marketable securities were $62.6 billion. Source
  • Free cash flow of $34.9 billion: Free cash flow was $34.9 billion for the quarter and $96.6 billion for fiscal 2026. Source
  • Non-marketable equity purchases of $12.8B: Purchases of non-marketable equity securities were $12.8 billion in the quarter and $17.5 billion in fiscal 2026. Source
  • Quarterly shareholder returns of $4.1 billion: The company returned $4.1 billion in the quarter: $3.8 billion of repurchases and $243 million of dividends. Fiscal 2026 returns totaled $41.1 billion. Source
  • Repurchase authorization down to $58.5B: $58.5 billion remained under the repurchase authorization at quarter end, against $62.2 billion at the end of the third quarter. Source
  • Receivable days fell to 51: Accounts receivable were $38.5 billion, with 51 days sales outstanding, down from 53 days, on timing of cash collections. Source

Strategy and investment

  • CoreWeave AI factory buildout by 2030: The collaboration with CoreWeave was strengthened to accelerate buildout of more than 5 gigawatts of AI factories by 2030. Source
  • AWS partnership expanded: The AWS partnership added technology integrations across interconnect, cloud infrastructure, open models and physical AI. Source
  • Nemotron 3 open model family debuted: Nemotron 3 is a family of open models, data and libraries for transparent, efficient and specialized agentic AI development across industries. Source
  • Blackwell Ultra benchmark claim cited: Management cited SemiAnalysis InferenceX results showing Blackwell Ultra delivers up to 50x better performance and 35x lower cost than Hopper for agentic AI. Source

People and leadership

  • Stock-based compensation enters non-GAAP: From the first quarter of fiscal 2027, non-GAAP results include stock-based compensation, which the company calls a foundational part of its compensation program. Source
  • Compensation rise tied to employee growth: The year-over-year GAAP operating expense increase was driven by higher compensation and benefits expense due to employee growth. Source
  • Stock-based compensation expense of $1.6B: Stock-based compensation expense was $1.6 billion in the quarter and $6.4 billion for fiscal 2026, per the cash flow statement. Source

Coming up, as management said on 25 February 2026

  • Dividend payable April 1, 2026: The next quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per share is payable April 1, 2026, to holders of record on March 11, 2026. Source
  • Rubin instances from major clouds first: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure are expected to be among the first to deploy Vera Rubin-based instances. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Gross margin (GAAP / non-GAAP) Source75.0% / 75.2%
Data Center revenue Source$62.3 billion
Networking revenue Source$11.0 billion
Gaming revenue Source$3.7 billion
Professional Visualization revenue Source$1.3 billion
Automotive revenue Source$604 million
Inventory Source$21.4 billion

Risks management discussed

  • Operational: Management expects supply constraints to be a headwind to Gaming revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 and beyond. Source
  • Regulatory: The first-quarter guidance assumes no Data Center compute revenue from China. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.