[Click eStock] "NVIDIA, Demand Continues to Exceed Supply"

Hana Securities evaluated NVIDIA on the 23rd, stating that "strong artificial intelligence (AI) demand will continue" and "the positive trend will persist in the second half of this year due to semiconductor demand recovery and expanded server sales."

On the same day, Kim Rok-ho, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, "NVIDIA's Q4 revenue last year was $22.1 billion, a 265% increase compared to the same period last year. Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) recorded $5.16, a 486% increase," adding that the data center segment led the performance for four consecutive quarters, recording $18.4 billion, up 409% year-over-year and 27% quarter-over-quarter.

Researcher Kim stated, "Strong demand for the H100 AI semiconductor for servers continues, and supply is generally improving," adding, "According to accounting standards, AI inference sales accounted for 40% of the data center segment's annual revenue last year. Strong AI demand is expected to continue due to large-scale language models built in native languages in all regions except China, and AI infrastructure investments by local companies." Under a favorable supply chain environment, the gross profit margin improved by 2.0 percentage points quarter-over-quarter to 76.0%.

NVIDIA provided guidance for the next quarter with revenue of $23.5 billion to $24.5 billion and a gross profit margin of 75.8% to 76.8%. Compared to market expectations just before the earnings announcement, revenue exceeds estimates by 8-12%, and the gross profit margin is in line. Data center and ProViz segments are expected to grow quarter-over-quarter, while gaming segment revenue is expected to decline due to seasonal factors. Favorable component prices are expected to continue through the next quarter, maintaining a high gross profit margin.

The H200 is scheduled for release in Q2 as planned. The H200, equipped with the 5th generation HBM, HBM3e, is expected to face supply shortages due to strong demand despite limited supply typical of new models. Additionally, the medium- to long-term growth outlook remains positive following the previous quarter. This is because demand is shifting from general-purpose computing to accelerated computing due to improvements in data processing costs and speeds, and new types of data centers called AI generative factories are increasing.

Researcher Kim also mentioned that sovereign AI, such as large-scale language models built in native languages outside the US and China and AI infrastructure investments by local companies, serves as an additional demand driver. Despite heightened expectations, NVIDIA once again achieved an earnings surprise, with after-hours stock price rising 9.07%. He added, "Confirmed robust generative AI demand is expected to be positive for related domestic supply chains."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.