Nvidia has announced its earnings for the first quarter of its 2018 financial year - which, because finance isn't already confusing enough, took place in the first quarter of calendar year 2017 - and it's nothing short of astonishing, with revenue up 48 percent year-on-year.

According to the company's latest filing Nvidia made $1.937 billion in revenue in the first quarter of its 2018 financial year, up from $1.305 billion a year prior. If a 48 percent jump in revenue wasn't enough, the company also boasted of boosted profit margins: The company's gross margin went from 57.5 percent in the first quarter of financial year 2017 to 59.4 percent this quarter, an 18 percent rise. All told, the company made a net profit of $507 million - up an astonishing 144 percent year-on-year.

The reason, according to Nvidia founder and chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang, is growing interest in the company's graphics products for use in areas outside gaming: 'The AI revolution is moving fast and continuing to accelerate. Nvidia's GPU deep learning platform is the instrument of choice for researchers, internet giants and startups as they invent the future,' claimed Huang during the company's announcement. 'Our Datacentre GPU computing business nearly tripled from last year, as more of the world's computer scientists engage deep learning. One industry after another is awakening to the power of GPU deep learning and AI, the most important technology force of our time.'

Addressing the question of value, Huang had something interesting to say on the positioning of his company's wares: 'I think GeForce is a game console,' he explained during a question-and-answer portion of his company's earnings call. 'And the right way to think about that is at an equivalent ASP [Average Selling Price] of some $200-$300, that's probably potentially an opportunity ahead for GeForce. The average selling price of the Nvidia GeForce is about a third of a game console. That's the way to think about it. That's the simple math. People are willing to spend $200, $300, $400, $500 for a new game console, and the Nvidia GeForce GPU PC gaming card is on average far less.'

For the coming quarter, Nvidia is predicting $1.95 billion plus-or-minus two percent revenue and a slightly lower 58.4 gross margin though did not offer an explanation for the dip.
Discuss this in the forums
YouTube logo
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review

October 14 2021 | 15:04

TOP STORIES

SUGGESTED FOR YOU