Nvidia: Wall Street's most valuable company - how did it get there?

Nvidia has once again turned out quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street's forecasts. The company has seen soaring demand for its semiconductors, which are used to power artificial intelligence applications.

Revenue nearly doubled in the latest quarter from the same period a year earlier, Nvidia reported on Wednesday. The company expects further revenue growth in the current quarter that ends in January. Investors will be watching to see if demand for the company's next-generation AI chip called Blackwell can help it maintain the red-hot pace.

The company's journey to be one of the most prominent players in AI has produced some eye-popping numbers. Here's a look.

Total market value

Nvidia's total market value as of the close Wednesday at $3.579tn (€3.39tn), tops in the S&P 500. It regained the No. 1 sport from Apple ($3.461tn/€3.28tn) earlier this week. Microsoft is the only other company with a market value above $3tn ($3.089tn/€2.93tn). One year ago, Nvidia's market value was around $1.243tn (€1.18tn).

Stock price gain

Nvidia's stock price has risen by 195% so far this year as of the close of trading on Wednesday. A $100,000 (€948,424) investment in Nvidia two years ago would now be worth more than $950,000 (€901,003). Shares fell about 1% in after-hours trading following the release of the company's earnings.

Boost to the value of the S&P 500

Some 25% of the S&P's 500 gain for the year could be attributed to Nvidia alone, as of 31 October. Nvidia replaced Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average earlier this month.

Revenue earned from data centre business

Nvidia's revenue from its data centre business for the quarter ended 31 October was $30.8bn (€29.2bn), up 112% from a year ago. Overall revenue rose 94% from a year ago to $35.1bn (€33.3bn).

By comparison, revenue growth for all the companies in the S&P 500 is expected to be about 5.5% for the latest quarter, according to FactSet.

Predicted revenue for fourth quarter

Nvidia's estimate for overall revenue in the fourth quarter, "plus or minus 2%" is some $37.5bn (€35.6bn). That translates to a range of between $36.8bn (€34.9bn) and $38.3bn (€36.3bn), compared with Wall Street's estimate of $37.1bn (€35.2bn). Revenue in the year-ago fourth quarter totalled $22.1bn (€21bn).

Estimate for Nvidia's revenue for its financial year

Analysts' estimate for Nvidia’s revenue for the fiscal year that ends in January 2025 will be $126.5bn (€120bn). That would be more than double its revenue for fiscal 2024 and more than four times its receipts the year before that.