Nvidia, the world's most valuable company by market value, posted a net profit of US$ 59.7 billion (about R$ 307.5 billion) in the second quarter of its fiscal year, up 126% from the same period a year earlier. The results, released on Wednesday (26), came with revenue of US$ 96.2 billion, 106% higher year on year, according to G1.

Earnings per share, the metric investors watch most closely, came in at US$ 2.22, above the US$ 2.09 projected by analysts surveyed by FactSet, according to G1. InfoMoney, which uses LSEG estimates, reported earnings per share of US$ 2.20 against a forecast of US$ 2.10. On both measures, the company beat the consensus.

Chief executive Jensen Huang used the earnings release to push back against doubts about the economic payoff of artificial intelligence:

"AI has reached its tipping point. It is doing useful work. Its tokens are productive and profitable. Demand is accelerating. The buildout of AI infrastructure is moving at full speed."

Outlook for the current quarter

For the current period, Nvidia projects revenue of US$ 108 billion, give or take 2%, with a gross margin around 74%, according to InfoMoney. The forecast excludes any revenue from data center sales to China. Analyst estimates ranged from US$ 104 billion to US$ 105 billion, with some projections above US$ 110 billion, according to LSEG and Bloomberg data cited by the site.

The market reaction was cool. Shares fell as much as 2% in after-hours trading, after ending the regular session down 1.59%, and only later trimmed the losses, InfoMoney reported. In the post-market session tracked by G1, the stock was down 0.27%. "That shows how high the bar is" for the company, analyst Jacob Bourne of eMarketer told G1. In his view, the muted response reflects doubts about whether Nvidia can keep up its pace of growth.

There is also unease about how money circulates in the sector. Some analysts are watching closely the sums Nvidia channels into structures that let its customers invest in AI; for some of them, those investments may be artificially inflating demand, according to G1. InfoMoney reports that the investment deals Nvidia has signed with companies across the AI ecosystem have fed fears of circular transactions, as skepticism grows about a possible bubble in the sector.

The earnings report has become a gauge because Nvidia sits at the center of the chain: on one side, it designs the accelerators used to train and run AI models; on the other, a concentrated group of tech giants funds the data centers that buy those chips. As long as those buyers keep spending, the maker's revenue holds up. For component suppliers, the US$ 108 billion projection signals firm orders in the near term. For the businesses and consumers who use AI services, continued investment on this scale is what tends to expand supply and press prices down.