Nvidia (NVDA +1.65%) has wowed investors with many of its moves over the past few years, from introducing game-changing new products into the artificial intelligence (AI) market to earning a spot in the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.83%).
The company elevated its specialty of designing graphics processing units (GPUs) to almost an art form -- these chips started out mainly serving the video games industry, but today power the most advanced AI systems. In fact, Nvidia's chips are known as the best around, and that's why the world's tech giants -- from Amazon to Microsoft -- flock to the company for its latest releases.
All of this has resulted in double- and triple-digit revenue growth in recent years, and over the past five years, the stock has soared quadruple digits. In recent weeks, though, this high-flying stock has slipped along with the rest of the market. Investors worry President Trump's trade war with major U.S. trade partners could hurt the economy and corporate earnings.
But it's important to remember that, even if Nvidia faces headwinds in the near term, its long-term prospects and the general AI growth story remain intact. And Nvidia isn't finished when it comes to making impressive moves. In fact, my prediction is one particular thing will be Nvidia's net big move -- and it will start on March 18.
Image source: Getty Images.
From video games to the AI boom
First, though, let's take a quick look at Nvidia's path so far. As mentioned, Nvidia's GPUs initially focused on the video gaming market, but when it became clear that their ability to process multiple tasks at once could serve many other areas, growth took off. And the AI boom became a key catalyst, helping Nvidia's annual revenue climb from $26 billion in the 2022 fiscal year to $130 billion in the recently completed 2025 fiscal year.
Nvidia hasn't stuck with only GPUs, instead building out an entire platform of AI products and services, from enterprise software to networking tools and more. This tech giant has the portfolio necessary to help both commercial customers and governments along every step of their AI path.
As mentioned, technology companies -- pouring billions of dollars annually into their AI programs -- are major Nvidia customers. This is positive because these players are committed to their AI strategies and have the financial resources to carry out their plans.
Now, let's move along to my prediction. Nvidia will hold its annual GTC AI conference this coming week, and CEO Jensen Huang will keynote the event on March 18. As Huang speaks about significant happenings at Nvidia, he'll likely offer us some clues about the future. And I predict Nvidia's next key move will be to focus more heavily than ever on innovation -- a make-it-or-break-it element for AI chip designers.
Image source: Getty Images.
Clues about Nvidia's innovation strengths
Nvidia already has offered us clues of its strengths when it comes to innovation: It launched its latest Blackwell architecture in its fastest-ever production ramp. And the company generated $11 billion in Blackwell revenue in the first quarter of commercialization -- all while maintaining gross margin above 70%. This highlights Nvidia's ability to release a complex product fast, without major glitches, and ensure high profitability on sales. The fact that demand has surpassed supply is another good sign, showing customers are eager to get in on Nvidia's products.
Why do I think Nvidia now is kicking up innovation a notch? In the past, Nvidia has talked about updating GPUs annually. But after this enormous Blackwell launch, which happened over the past few months, the company already aims to release Blackwell Ultra at some point in the second half of this year -- so it's possible this new update may even come a bit before the original Blackwell's one-year anniversary.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Nvidia says the Vera Rubin architecture will launch next. And reports have suggested Rubin development is ahead of schedule so it could release as early as later this year or early next year.
Considering Nvidia's recent emphasis on the importance of reasoning inference moving forward, I would expect Blackwell Ultra to be particularly strong in this area -- and that's something that could supercharge Nvidia's already solid revenue growth. This potential speed in innovation and a focus on a key growth area is crucial for Nvidia because it's the one thing that could keep it ahead of rivals -- and result in high-level growth over time.
So, my prediction is Nvidia's next big move will be this focus on innovation, with the next chip updates potentially coming even sooner than expected and being keenly adapted to the next AI growth area. And that could be fantastic news for Nvidia shareholders.
