‘Masterpiece performance:’ Nvidia’s results show the AI train is still chugging along

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was in the spotlight on Thursday after the semiconductor giant reported second-quarter results and guidance that topped estimates, leading to much praise from Wall Street firms that seem to be running out of ways to praise the Jensen Huang-led company.

Shares fell roughly 3% in premarket trading, while other semiconductor stocks, such as AMD (AMD), Arm (ARM), Broadcom (AVGO) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), also moved lower.

“Nvidia’s earnings last night [were] front and center globally as the Godfather of AI Jensen are the torch-bearers of this AI Revolution,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in an investor note, adding that the results and guidance were a “drop the mic” moment yet again.

Ives also noted the earnings call was “very insightful” for people who are skeptical about the AI-related hype.

“Jensen [Huang] spoke in dialed in detail about customers getting ROI right away on its GPU investments, and many customers are vying to be the first to produce new AI advancements and models,” Ives explained. “AI GPU demand is way outstripping supply for Nvidia at this juncture, and [Wall Street] should come away from these results as a very bullish indicator for the broader tech sector with more shock and awe rather than a shrug of the shoulders in our view.”

Looking to the third-quarter of fiscal 2025, Nvidia expects to generate $32.5B in revenue, plus or minus 2%. Analysts were forecasting $31.71B in revenue for the Jensen Huang-led company.

Price target bumps, praise

A number of Wall Street firms raised their price targets on Nvidia after the results, including Morgan Stanley, Raymond James and Bernstein.

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore raised his price target to $150 from $144 and reiterated his Overweight rating. He said that expectations “become more challenging as the superlative becomes mundane,” however, this was still a “very strong quarter” for Nvidia.

In addition, the commentary around the upcoming Blackwell launch is likely to be a “significant positive factor” through 2025.

Raymond James analyst Srini Pajjuri also raised his price target, as he upped it to $140 from $120 after the results and reiterated his Strong Buy rating. He added that there are some concerns about the gross margin outlook, but overall, the results and guidance were “largely consistent with the expectations.”

Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon also raised his price target on Nvidia, as he raised it to $155 from $130 after the results. “Overall, Nvidia continues to perform well despite high expectations, and the firm believes that sequential growth in the Datacenter segment remains likely through the end of the year,” Rasgon wrote in a note to clients.

Blackwell worries?

TD Cowen analyst Matthew Ramsay, who has a Buy rating on Nvidia, said the commentary around Blackwell is “very encouraging.” However, after reporting datacenter revenue grew more than 150% year-over-year, the short-term noise is likely to continue, which Ramsay said “seems like a nearly absurd statement in the context.”

Seeking Alpha Investing Group Leader Lucas Ma said there are still some uncertainties around Blackwell, but he sees “bright prospects ahead.”

“With its drastically improved computing capabilities and energy efficiency, I expect Blackwell to fundamentally change the budget allocation of AI developers and end users,” Ma said.

Nvidia said that Blackwell samples are shipping to partners after some concerns over delays.