Nvidia, the semiconductor giant at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution, announced a 10-for-1 stock split on Thursday as its shares soared over 9%, past $1039. This move underscores Nvidia's remarkable year, with shares advancing more than 90% and cementing its role as a leader in AI technology.
The stock split, effective on June 7, 2024, will bring the price of each share down to $94.95, making the stock more accessible to a broader range of investors. Additionally, Nvidia has increased its quarterly dividend by 150%, raising it from $0.04 to $0.10 per share.
The announcement came on the heels of a robust first-quarter earnings report, where Nvidia posted revenues of $26 billion, a staggering 262% increase from the same period last year, surpassing estimates of $24.6 billion tracked by LSEG. The company also projected second-quarter revenues of $28 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of $26 billion.
Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, highlighted the company's pivotal role in the ongoing AI boom, stating, "The next industrial revolution has begun - companies and countries are partnering with Nvidia to shift the trillion-dollar traditional data centers to accelerated computing and build a new type of data center - AI factories - to produce a new commodity: artificial intelligence."
The company's significant growth is largely driven by its data center business, which saw an astounding 427% increase in the latest quarter. Major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud, which collectively accounted for "mid-40%" of Nvidia's $22.56 billion in data center sales in the April quarter, are central to this growth.
Nvidia's GPUs are crucial for the AI infrastructure, enabling companies to rent powerful computing capabilities necessary for training large language models like OpenAI's GPT. For instance, GPU cloud provider CoreWeave is currently quoting $4.25 per hour to rent an Nvidia H100, highlighting the essential role of Nvidia's hardware in AI development.
Following Nvidia's impressive earnings report, CFO Colette Kress assured investors of the strong return on investment that cloud providers are seeing from Nvidia hardware. Kress explained that for every dollar spent on Nvidia hardware, cloud providers can generate $5 in revenue over four years. She also highlighted the potential of newer products like the HDX H200, which can yield $7 in revenue per dollar spent over the same period.
CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the high demand for Nvidia's GPUs, noting that companies like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and numerous AI startups are eager for the company's hardware. "All of the work that's being done at all the [cloud service providers] are consuming every GPU that's out there," Huang said. He also mentioned Meta's plans to invest billions in 350,000 Nvidia chips, which the social media giant intends to monetize through its advertising business or by integrating chatbots into its apps.
Nvidia's forward momentum is further supported by the announcement of its next-generation GPU, Blackwell, expected to be available in data centers by the fiscal fourth quarter. Early adopters of this new technology include Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, Tesla, and Elon Musk's xAI.
The company's announcement of a 10-for-1 stock split follows a trend among high-profile companies looking to make their shares more affordable and attractive to a wider investor base. Other companies, like Chipotle and Walmart, have also recently announced stock splits to similar ends.
Chipotle's board approved a 50-for-1 split, with shareholders of record set to receive additional shares after the market closes on June 25. Walmart executed a 3-for-1 split earlier this year to allow more employees to become shareholders, in line with founder Sam Walton's vision.
Nvidia's shares have surged by over 231,485% since its initial public offering in January 1999. The company's success and its recent stock split reflect its pivotal role in the AI industry and its strategic moves to maintain growth and accessibility for investors. As Nvidia continues to innovate and lead in AI technology, it remains a key player in shaping the future of data centers and artificial intelligence.
