Analyst commentary on Nvidia’s stunning second-quarter revenue beat came in thick and fast today, with major investment banks roundly applauding the chipmaker’s blockbuster results.
Biggest semiconductor revenue beat of all time
Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn), UBS, Wedbush, and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:NYSE:MS) were undeniably enchanted by the huge beat on Wall Street expectations, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) noting that last quarter was the first in history that a semiconductor firm guided revenues $4 billion above consensus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) praised Nvidia's strong data centre business growth and highlighted the company's robust product pipeline.
However, the bank also outlined potential risks associated with the spectre of tougher Chinese technology sanctions, saying that any further restrictions could impact 20% to 25% of Nvidia’s global product demand.
Despite these concerns, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) remains optimistic about Nvidia's prospects, raising the price target from $500 to $630 and maintaining an overweight rating.
Partying like it’s 1995
Earlier this week, Proactive contemplated whether Nvidia would be partying like it was 1995 or 1999.
In other words, is the AI hype reminiscent of the mid-90s internet revolution or the subsequent dot-com crash?
Nvidia’s earnings have confirmed the former, reckons Wedbush.
Wedbush described Nvidia's guidance as a ” historical moment for the broader tech sector and a sneak preview of what is on the horizon”, comparing the AI demand surge to significant tech trends of the past, such as the rise of the internet in 1995 and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s iPhone launch in 2007.
“Nvidia delivers guidance for the ages; the 1995 moment is here,” they gushed.
Wedbush also addressed concerns about high valuations in the AI sector, arguing that transformative tech trends cannot be easily boxed into traditional valuation metrics.
The gushing continued: “Very simply Nvidia's guidance and commentary was at ‘drop the mic’ level as investors now recognise crystal clear this AI demand story is as REAL as any tech trend we have seen in the last 30.”
Nvidia could earn $30 billion every quarter
UBS noted that while Nvidia's guidance wasn't as surprising as the previous quarter, it was still robust.
The bank emphasised Nvidia's pivotal role in AI, suggesting that the company could potentially see demand in the $30 billion per quarter range.
UBS raised its price target slightly from $540 to $560, maintaining a 'buy' rating.
UBS analysts believe Nvidia's revenue next year could approach $100 billion, though they also anticipate a potential plateau as the market adjusts.
Another whopper from hopper
Ross Seymore at Deutsche Bank got creative with his praise, calling the results “another whopper from hopper”, referring to Nvidia’s H100 hopper GPU architecture that is designed to accelerate the training of AI models.
Deutsche Bank maintained a ''hold rating, raising its price target from $440 to $560, citing the need for cyclical conservatism in future estimates.
“Importantly, Nvidia somewhat dispelled investor concerns on supply bottlenecks, expecting supply to grow each quarter through next year. Overall, there is very little to pick at after such a strong report and guide, and our 2025 to 2026 earnings estimates rise around 60% as a result,” said Seymore.
Last Nvidia bear gives up
Rounding out what feels like an inflection day for Nvidia, one of the few research firms with a sell rating on Nvidia stock has thrown in the towel and upgraded to 'hold'.
Morningstar analyst Brian Colello said the firm is “much more optimistic about the rise of AI workloads and how Nvidia’s wide moat should cement itself as an AI chip leader”.
Colello estimated $100 billion in revenues by 2028, stating: “We could be wrong, but we see little evidence that these GPU orders are upfront spending or a one-time build… Such growth might be unprecedented in large-cap tech, but we foresee all types of enterprises investing in AI.”