Anticipation is building. For investors in Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), May 14 is shaping up to be far more than just another date on the calendar. In a surprise last-minute development, CEO Jensen Huang has reportedly joined President Donald Trump on a high-stakes trip to China, placing Nvidia at the center of a pivotal moment in U.S.-China tech relations. The unexpected addition comes as Washington and Beijing negotiate issues (on May 14 and 15) ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) chip exports and tariffs to supply chains and trade access, all areas with enormous implications for Nvidia’s future growth.
Notably, China remains one of Nvidia’s most strategically valuable markets, despite years of export restrictions on advanced AI chips. Huang’s presence is fueling speculation that easing semiconductor tensions or expanding access to China’s AI market may now be back on the table. For Nvidia shareholders, the outcome of this visit could influence everything from future revenue opportunities to the company’s already dominant position in the global AI race.
About Nvidia Stock
Nvidia is a global leader in accelerated computing and AI, renowned for pioneering the GPU that revolutionized gaming, data centers, and AI-driven computing. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Nvidia’s technology now powers everything from high-performance gaming and cloud computing to autonomous vehicles and generative AI applications. With a market cap of $5.5 trillion, Nvidia stands among the world’s most valuable companies, driven by its dominance in AI infrastructure and continued innovation in next-generation chip design.
Shares of NVIDIA have continued their remarkable rally in 2026, driven by relentless demand for AI infrastructure, hyperscaler spending, and optimism surrounding the company’s next-generation Blackwell platform. The stock reached a fresh 52-week high of $227.84 on May 13 and today’s high hit $233.21, a move that coincided with news that CEO Jensen Huang would join Donald Trump and a delegation of top U.S. executives on a high-profile trip to China.
Investors viewed Huang’s inclusion as a potentially positive signal for Nvidia amid ongoing U.S.-China tensions over AI chip exports and access to the Chinese market, which remains strategically important for the company’s long-term growth.
Over the past 52 weeks, Nvidia stock has surged 70.64%, dramatically outperforming the broader market as investors continue to pour into AI-related names. Year-to-date (YTD), the shares are up 23.64%, while the stock has gained 17.52% over the past month alone amid renewed bullish momentum ahead of earnings and continued AI spending commitments from major cloud providers.
Nvidia trades at a premium valuation compared to its industry peers, at 28.17 times forward earnings non-GAAP.
Solid Quarterly Performance
Nvidia reported record fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 25, as booming AI infrastructure demand and the rapid ramp of Blackwell systems continued to drive extraordinary growth across the company’s data center business.
For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 25, Nvidia generated revenue of $68.13 billion, up 73% year-over-year (YOY) from $39.3 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, net income climbed to $39.6 billion versus $22.1 billion a year earlier, while non-GAAP EPS rose to $1.62 from $0.89, above expectations. Non-GAAP gross margin improved to 75.2% from 73.5%.
The Data Center segment remained Nvidia’s primary growth engine, with Q4 revenue soaring 75% YOY to $62.3 billion as hyperscalers, AI projects, and enterprises accelerated investments in Blackwell AI systems and inference infrastructure. Gaming revenue increased 47% YOY to $3.7 billion, Professional Visualization revenue jumped 159% to $1.3 billion, and Automotive & Robotics revenue rose 6% to $604 million.
Meanwhile, the company unveiled the Rubin AI platform, designed to deliver up to a 10x reduction in inference token costs compared with Blackwell, while confirming that major cloud providers, including Amazon.com’s (AMZN) Amazon Web Services, Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google Cloud, Microsoft Corporation’s (MSFT) Azure, and Oracle Corporation’s (ORCL) Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, would be among the first adopters.
Additionally, Nvidia expanded key AI partnerships with Meta Platforms (META), Anthropic, CoreWeave (CRWV), and OpenAI to accelerate the deployment of large-scale AI factories and sovereign AI infrastructure. Importantly, the company has made significant progress in gaming and AI PCs, with the launch of DLSS 4.5, while automotive developments included deeper collaborations and expansion of the DRIVE Hyperion ecosystem for autonomous vehicles.
For annual fiscal 2026, Nvidia delivered revenue of $215.9 billion, up 65% from fiscal 2025 revenue of $130.5 billion. Non-GAAP net income rose to $117 billion from $74.3 billion in fiscal 2025, and non-GAAP EPS advanced to $4.77 from $2.99, reflecting another year of massive profitability expansion fueled by AI demand.
Full-year Data Center revenue surged 68% YOY to a record $193.7 billion, accounting for the overwhelming majority of company sales. Gaming revenue rose 41% to $16 billion, Professional Visualization revenue increased 70% to $3.2 billion, and Automotive & Robotics revenue advanced 39% to $2.3 billion.
Furthermore, Nvidia issued exceptionally strong guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, forecasting revenue of $78 billion, plus or minus 2%. Demand for agentic AI, and sovereign AI infrastructure remains steady despite ongoing restrictions on advanced AI chip exports to China.
Analysts tracking Nvidia project the company’s EPS to climb 71.6% YOY to $7.84 in fiscal 2027 and grow another 34.1% to $10.51 in fiscal 2028.
What Do Analysts Expect for Nvidia Stock?
Recently, Nvidia received a bullish call from Bank of America, which raised its price target on the stock to $320 from $300 while maintaining a “Buy” rating.
Moreover, Susquehanna International Group raised its price target on the stock to $275 from $250 while maintaining a “Positive” rating. The firm expects stronger financial results and guidance as Nvidia’s GB300 AI platform ramps throughout the first half of 2026. And Susquehanna pointed to surging AI infrastructure spending by major hyperscalers, which are now projected to nearly double capital expenditures in 2026.
Plus, Nvidia received another major Wall Street endorsement with Wells Fargo raising its price target on the stock to $315 from $265 while maintaining a bullish “Overweight” rating.
Wall Street’s bullishness is evident in NVDA having a consensus “Strong Buy” rating. Of the 49 analysts covering the stock, 44 advise a “Strong Buy,” three suggest a “Moderate Buy,” one analyst gives it a “Hold” rating, and one offers a “Strong Sell” rating.
The average analyst price target for NVDA is $271.03, indicating a potential upside of 15.34%. Also, the Street-high target price of $380 suggests that the stock could rally as much as 61.7%.
On the date of publication, Subhasree Kar did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
