Nvidia (NVDA +1.07%) has been around for more than 30 years, but it's in recent years that this tech giant has seen earnings and its stock price truly take off. In its earlier days, the company's biggest business was serving chips to the video gaming market, and this progressively powered revenue higher. About a decade ago, though, Nvidia saw a new and potentially massive opportunity -- artificial intelligence (AI) -- and decided to dive in, designing its chips specifically to suit this technology.
This decision proved to be game-changing for Nvidia. It resulted in revenue and profit soaring in the triple digits to record levels -- and Nvidia securing the leading position in a market set to reach into the trillions of dollars just a few years from now. Still, investors have worried about various headwinds that could interrupt Nvidia's incredible story -- from any slowdown in AI spending to increased pressure from rival chip designers.
And concerns gathered momentum this year as AI stocks' valuations climbed, and investors started worrying about the formation of a possible AI bubble. But, during Nvidia's recent earnings report, the company announced solid numbers and delivered amazing news to investors for 2026. Let's find out more.
Image source: Nvidia.
A focus on AI
We'll start by zooming in on the Nvidia story so far. As mentioned, Nvidia shifted to a focus on chips for AI well before investors flocked to AI stocks. The company recognized the opportunity, so innovated to make the fastest graphics processing units (GPUs) around, specifically to suit this growing technology. GPUs have proven to be at the heart of AI development and use as they power key tasks like the training of models and the processes these models go through to solve problems.
This helped Nvidia's annual revenue to climb from just $27 billion back in the 2023 fiscal year to $130 billion in the latest fiscal year. In the recent quarter, Nvidia's earnings continued to top analysts' expectations, and the company spoke of high demand for its Blackwell architecture and the update, Blackwell Ultra.
All of this has propelled Nvidia stock to a 1,200% gain over the past five years, demonstrating the company's strength as a long-term investment.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Investors' concerns
Investors, however, have voiced concerns about a variety of challenges that could weigh on Nvidia and other AI stocks in the coming year -- and one in particular that has become a key point of focus is AI infrastructure spending. This is a decisive element because it could either supercharge or hurt Nvidia's growth. This metric concerns "hyperscalers:" major cloud service providers, like Amazon, for example, and others, such as Meta Platforms, that are building out data centers. An essential element in this construction is the AI chip, as well as supporting systems -- and as the dominant AI chip company, Nvidia is positioned to benefit.
Nvidia gave investors high hopes a few months ago when chief Jensen Huang said this spending may reach the level of $4 trillion by 2030 -- but some investors still remained on their guard about the near term.
A reason to be optimistic about Nvidia
During the latest earnings report, though, Nvidia offered investors a reason to be optimistic not only about the long term but also about Nvidia's potential earnings next year. The company highlighted the following: Analysts' expectations for 2026 capital spending by the top hyperscalers continue to climb and now have reached $600 billion -- that's about $200 billion higher than estimates earlier this year.
On top of this, these players in recent earnings reports have spoken of strong demand for AI products and services -- and have said they will boost spending to meet this demand.
So, what does this mean for Nvidia (and shareholders)? If these players continue to spend at such levels, Nvidia clearly will see significant growth in the coming quarters. Yes, hyperscalers turn to various companies for chips and other elements, but Nvidia continues to be the major "go-to" company for AI systems. These tech giants aim to win in AI, and they know that the most powerful tools can help them reach the finish line faster -- so it's likely they will continue to rely on Nvidia.
This potential growth ahead may lead to ongoing stock price gains for Nvidia, and that's fantastic news for investors as we march toward a new year.
