Nvidia (NVDA) closed at $223.47 and rose to $224.05 in after-hours trading on May 20 after the company reported record-breaking first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings driven by explosive artificial intelligence demand and surging data center sales. The AI chip giant posted quarterly revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85% from a year ago, beating its original guidance of $78 billion. Revenue climbed 20% from the previous quarter as hyperscalers and enterprises accelerated AI infrastructure spending. The company also announced an additional $80 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.01 to $0.25 per share. That combination immediately grabbed Wall Street’s attention. So what powered the massive quarter? Nvidia’s data center business once again carried the company. Data Center Revenue Hits New Record Nvidia reported record data center revenue of $75.2 billion during the quarter, up 92% year over year and 21% sequentially. Under its previous reporting structure, compute revenue reached $60.4 billion while networking revenue climbed to $14.8 billion. The company said AI factory expansion continues to accelerate globally as businesses race to deploy generative and agentic AI systems. CEO Jensen Huang described the current AI infrastructure wave as “the largest infrastructure expansion in human history.” He also said agentic AI now performs productive work at scale across industries and enterprises. Investors closely watched Nvidia’s Blackwell rollout during the quarter. The company confirmed continued production progress across Blackwell systems, including GB200 and future Vera Rubin platforms designed specifically for agentic AI workloads. Nvidia also introduced new networking, inference, storage, and autonomous AI software platforms during the quarter as it expanded its role beyond graphics processing units. Nvidia Raises The Stakes With Massive Shareholder Returns Nvidia returned approximately $20 billion to shareholders during the quarter through stock buybacks and dividends. The company still held $38.5 billion under its previous repurchase authorization before approving the additional $80 billion plan. At the same time, Nvidia sharply increased its quarterly dividend payout. The new $0.25 dividend will be paid on June 26 to shareholders of record on June 4. Why does this matter now? The move signals strong confidence in Nvidia’s cash flow generation even as the company continues spending heavily on AI infrastructure growth. China Revenue Still Missing From Outlook Despite strong results, one major issue remains unresolved. Nvidia again excluded any China data center compute revenue from its forward guidance. The company expects second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $91 billion, plus or minus 2%, alongside non-GAAP gross margins of roughly 75%. That outlook arrives as investors continue monitoring U.S.-China semiconductor tensions. Earlier reports indicated several Chinese firms received approval to purchase Nvidia H200 AI chips, though deliveries have not started. China once represented about 13% of Nvidia’s revenue before export restrictions tightened. Investors now continue watching whether geopolitical negotiations eventually reopen a larger portion of that market. AI Expansion Continues Across Industries Beyond data centers, Nvidia highlighted rapid expansion across edge computing, robotics, autonomous driving, telecommunications, and industrial AI systems. Edge computing revenue reached $6.4 billion during the quarter, rising 29% year over year. Nvidia also announced expanded partnerships with companies including Google Cloud , Hyundai , Uber , Nokia , and T-Mobile . Meanwhile, Nvidia’s long-term stock performance continues dominating the broader market. Shares have gained nearly 20% year to date and more than 1,430% over the past five years. With another record quarter now complete, Wall Street appears increasingly focused on one question: how much larger can Nvidia’s AI empire still become?
