Nvidia (NVDA 3.46%) is one of the world's most innovative semiconductor companies. But beyond making those advanced computer chips, it's also expanding its footprint in the software space, thanks to its leadership position in artificial intelligence (AI) development.
Gaming, once the company's largest segment by revenue, softened dramatically this year as high inflation forced consumers to cut their spending on big-ticket items.
Thankfully for investors, Nvidia is no one-trick pony. It's experiencing growth in other areas, and building a substantial sales pipeline in its electric vehicle segment, in particular, which could be a big driver of revenue in the long term. With Nvidia stock down 64% from its all-time high, this might be an opportunity for investors to pounce.
Nvidia will power the future
Nvidia has maintained a partnership with China-based electric vehicle manufacturer Nio (NIO -0.82%) since 2014, but the scope is quickly ramping up. Back then, the two companies collaborated on in-car infotainment systems, but now, Nio relies on Nvidia to deliver advanced chip hardware and software to power autonomous self-driving capabilities.
Nio's flagship models run on the Adam supercomputer, which is powered by the Nvidia DRIVE platform. Adam can perform at a mind-boggling rate of 1,000 trillion operations per second to enable autonomous driving on expressways and in urban areas, in addition to self-parking.
But Nio is just one of at least 35 automotive brands that have called upon Nvidia's technology so far, and the chipmaker's sales pipeline for the DRIVE platform has already ballooned to $11 billion. Notably, top-tier brands like Daimler's Mercedes Benz will be rolling out autonomous vehicles powered by Nvidia as soon as 2024.
While that will be an incredibly lucrative opportunity in the future, Nvidia is a $306 billion company, so the automotive piece is still relatively small. In the here and now, the company's data center business holds the most promise. Revenue for that segment soared by 61% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2023 (ended July 31), picking up the slack from the gaming business's 33% decline.
Nvidia is pioneering the transformation of data centers from a place to store information to a training ground for artificial intelligence and machine learning, helping companies draw more valuable insights than ever from their data.
Nvidia's tale of two segments
The pandemic was a major driver of growth for Nvidia's gaming business. Consumers spent more time at home under social restrictions, resulting in more hours in front of screens. On top of that, supply chain disruptions led to shortages of some of Nvidia's most popular chips, which allowed the company to increase prices. And that helped its gaming segment achieve multiple consecutive quarterly revenue records.
But that party appears to be over for now. Some Wall Street analysts are pointing to a glut in chip supplies -- meaning supply caught up and now exceeds demand -- and a weaker appetite among consumers for expensive computer upgrades as the economy slows. The result displayed in the below chart speaks for itself.
Data source: Nvidia. Chart by author.
Still, as highlighted earlier, Nvidia's data center segment is more than picking up the slack. It continues to set new sales records and has now overtaken gaming as the company's largest business unit.
Data source: Nvidia. Chart by author.
Zooming out to observe the bigger picture, the sum of Nvidia's parts should result in continued growth on an annual basis, albeit at a slower pace in the near term, according to analysts' estimates.
Data source: Nvidia, Yahoo! Finance. Chart by author.
Why Nvidia stock is a buy on the dip
Nvidia's gaming business might be a drag right now, but it holds plenty of promise for the future. Aside from the fact that consumer spending will eventually recover, the company continues to deliver innovative products like its GeForce Now cloud-based gaming platform. It boasts more than 20 million users who can stream their favorite titles online instantly, without having to purchase a disc or download them. It also eliminates the need for patches and updates, creating a more seamless experience.
The data center segment is also likely to remain strong as more companies adopt cloud computing technology to migrate their operations online. Plus, by 2030, an estimate by McKinsey & Company suggests up to 70% of all organizations worldwide could deploy artificial intelligence in some capacity, an area Nvidia is already leading.
But the emerging long-term opportunity might be in autonomous driving, an industry that could top $2.1 trillion in value by 2030. Nvidia is clearly a company of the future, and investors have the chance to buy shares right now at a significant discount from their all-time high.
