Nvidia Posts $39 Billion Quarter as AI Spending Surge Continues, But Growth Rate Slows

Nvidia Posts $39 Billion Quarter as AI Spending Surge Continues, But Growth Rate Slows

Nvidia reported fourth-quarter revenue of $39.3 billion on Wednesday, marking another record for the chipmaker but signaling a deceleration in the breakneck growth that has defined its AI boom over the past two years.

The Santa Clara-based company's results, while exceeding Wall Street expectations, reveal a critical inflection point for CFOs tracking capital expenditure trends in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Nvidia's revenue growth, though still robust at 78% year-over-year, represents a significant slowdown from the triple-digit percentage gains that characterized much of 2024 and early 2025.

For finance leaders managing vendor relationships and technology budgets, the earnings report offers a nuanced picture of AI spending patterns. The company's data center segment—which includes the chips powering ChatGPT, Claude, and other large language models—continues to drive results, but the rate of expansion is moderating as hyperscalers digest massive buildouts from previous quarters.

Nvidia's forecast for the current quarter projects revenue of approximately $43 billion, representing roughly 9% sequential growth. While this guidance topped analyst estimates, it marks a notable deceleration from the 15-20% quarter-over-quarter gains the company posted through much of the past year. The company attributed the slower pace partly to supply constraints on its next-generation Blackwell chips, though management indicated production is ramping.

The earnings call revealed shifting dynamics in AI infrastructure spending. CEO Jensen Huang emphasized that demand remains "exceptional" across cloud providers, enterprises, and sovereign AI initiatives, but acknowledged that customers are becoming more strategic about deployment timing. Several hyperscale customers, Huang noted, are pausing to integrate existing GPU clusters before placing new orders—a pattern that could signal more measured capital allocation ahead.

For corporate finance teams, the implications extend beyond Nvidia's performance. The company's results serve as a leading indicator for broader enterprise AI adoption and the associated infrastructure costs. CFOs at companies deploying AI capabilities should note that even as Nvidia's growth moderates, the absolute scale of spending remains unprecedented—the company's quarterly revenue now exceeds the annual revenue of most Fortune 500 companies.

The earnings report also highlighted margin dynamics that matter for finance leaders evaluating AI investments. Nvidia maintained gross margins above 70%, underscoring the pricing power that comes with technological leadership. This suggests that for companies building AI capabilities, compute costs are likely to remain elevated even as competition in the chip market intensifies.

Nvidia's stock initially rose in after-hours trading before settling back, reflecting investor uncertainty about whether the moderation in growth represents a temporary pause or a more fundamental shift in AI infrastructure spending patterns. For CFOs, the key question isn't whether AI spending will continue—Huang made clear it will—but rather at what pace and with what return on investment requirements.

The company's performance sets the stage for upcoming earnings from major cloud providers, which will offer additional perspective on whether AI capital expenditure is entering a more mature, measured phase or simply catching its breath before another surge.