Investors are selling Nvidia (NVDA 0.76%) stock today, even after the company reported record results for its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter and full year. There are several likely reasons for the reaction. The stock had gained 125% in 2021, and even after its record year, the stock's valuation is at a lofty level.
The price-to-earnings ratio is still over 60, based on the recent fiscal year results. But those are real earnings -- not just sales -- that soared 123% year over year. Investors today seem to be focusing on management's prediction that gross margin will remain flat for the current quarter. The drop in shares makes it a good time to see whether long-term investors may be getting a good chance to invest.
Nvidia Drive Hyperion will support autonomous vehicle development. Image source: Nvidia.
The previously mentioned earnings growth does, of course, come from growing sales. And even after sales hit a record $7.6 billion in the last quarter, management thinks there's more to come. The majority of Nvidia's business still comes from gaming and data centers. But the company is expecting its platform for autonomous vehicles and driver assistance features to grow. Revenue from its auto segment was down 14% year over year, which is partly why investors reacted as they did today.
But that is likely to become another growth segment. Nvidia also announced a new partnership with the Land Rover and Jaguar brands yesterday. Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover Automotive will use Nvidia's Drive Hyperion platform for "a wide spectrum of active safety, automated driving and parking systems, as well as driver assistance systems built on DRIVE AV software," according to a joint statement from the companies.
Automotive and robotics was the only segment that showed slowing sales compared with the prior-year period this quarter. With its largest segments continuing to thrive, and its omniverse-focused professional visualization segment more than doubling sales quarter over quarter, any future growth from the auto sector will be another shot in the arm for Nvidia.
While a P/E of over 60 is still an expensive stock, if the company continues to double sales and earnings as it could moving forward, long-term investors are likely getting a good opportunity to buy with today's dip.
