NVIDIA Stock Soars as Jensen Huang Earns 13 Trillion Won in One Day

Nvidia, the leading company in artificial intelligence (AI), continues its unstoppable rally. Fueled by better-than-expected strong earnings and optimistic forecasts, its stock price surged by over 16% in a single day. The resulting increase in market capitalization reached a record high of $272 billion (approximately 361 trillion KRW). This scale is comparable to the market caps of Netflix and Coca-Cola, respectively.

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On the 22nd (local time) in the New York stock market, Nvidia's stock closed at $785.38 per share, up 16.40% from the previous session. Its market capitalization also surged from $1.667 trillion the day before to $1.939 trillion, bringing it close to joining the $2 trillion club. In one day, it added a company size comparable to Netflix (about $255 billion) and Coca-Cola (about $264 billion). Bloomberg reported this as "the largest daily market cap increase ever," surpassing Meta Platforms' record of $197 billion just three weeks ago. The estimated market cap fluctuation based on stock market option positioning results was even higher.

Nvidia, which supplies over 90% of the global market for high-value-added semiconductors such as graphics processing units (GPUs) used in AI development, is considered the biggest beneficiary of the AI boom. Especially, the earnings released after the market closed the previous day confirmed to the world that this rally is far from over. Nvidia's Q4 revenue last year increased by 265% compared to the same period the previous year, and gross profit surged by 769%. Furthermore, with Q1 revenue this year expected to exceed Wall Street estimates by more than 8%, immediate buying momentum followed.

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The surge in Nvidia's stock price has also brought CEO Jensen Huang closer to the ranks of the world's top 20 billionaires. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Huang's net worth reached $68.2 billion (approximately 90.6 trillion KRW) on that day, moving up from 23rd place the previous day to 21st overall. Nvidia's stock price soaring over 16% in one day increased Huang's net worth by about $9.6 billion (approximately 12.75 trillion KRW) in a single day.

Huang's net worth is now closely chasing Julia Koch, widow of oil magnate David Koch, who ranks 20th globally with $69.1 billion in family wealth. Until early last year, Huang's net worth was $13.5 billion (approximately 17.9 trillion KRW), ranking 128th overall. Bloomberg reported that the net worth of 28 AI-related entrepreneurs listed on the billionaire list increased by $35.7 billion (about 47.4 trillion KRW) on that day due to Nvidia's stock price rise.

Wall Street investment firms are continuously raising Nvidia's target stock price. Rosenblatt raised this year's target price from $1,100 to $1,400 per share, seeing nearly an 80% upside from the closing price that day. Bernstein also newly set a target price of $1,000 per share. Bank of America (BoA) and JP Morgan adjusted their targets upward to $925 and $850, respectively. Previously, UBS ($850) and Mizuho Securities ($825) had also raised Nvidia's target prices. According to TipRanks, among Wall Street analysts, 32 recommend buying, and only one recommends holding. Jamie Zaccari, an analyst at Neuberger Berman, said, "The AI-driven investment competition seems unstoppable, further amplifying the wave."

Meanwhile, fueled by the Nvidia-led tech stock rally, the New York stock market closed higher across the board that day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, centered on blue-chip stocks, surpassed 39,000 points for the first time ever, and the S&P 500 index also hit a record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose nearly 3% from the previous session, approaching its all-time high recorded in November 2021.

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