EARNINGS REVIEW
NVIDIA, FY26 Q4 Earnings Results
Historical quarterly report · Results and outlook reflect information available at the time of that release. Actual results from subsequent quarters are not incorporated into the outlook.
Continued data center growth increased quarterly revenue and cash flow. Pay attention to assumptions about China revenue in next-quarter guidance and changes to the non-GAAP definition.
Assessment · Revenue growth and high operating profitability translated into cash flow this quarter. However, the durability of customer investment, export controls and product transitions are key variables. As non-GAAP expense definitions change in subsequent quarters, prioritize GAAP for profitability comparisons.
Key management and company statements
Earnings release · Short original excerpt“Computing demand is growing exponentially — the agentic AI inflection point has arrived.”Meaning · Surging demand for computing has brought agentic AI to an inflection point.
Context · This CEO statement in the company release reflects management's assessment of demand direction.
Original statement ↗01 Revenue, operating income and results versus expectations
Year over year · Revenue 39.331 → 68.127 B$ (+73.2% · +28.796 B$), Operating income 24.034 → 44.299 B$ (+84.3% · +20.265 B$).
Quarter over quarter · Revenue 57.006 → 68.127 B$ (+19.5% · +11.121 B$), Operating income 36.010 → 44.299 B$ (+23.0% · +8.289 B$), Operating margin 63.2% → 65.0% (+1.9%p).
Data Center revenue was approximately 62.3 B$, up 75% year over year and 22% sequentially. Gaming revenue was approximately 3.7 B$, up 47% year over year but down 13% sequentially.
Results versus previous guidance
Revenue guidance 63.700~66.300 B$ → actual 68.127 B$. 1.827 B$ above the high end.
02 Earnings sustainability · From operating income to net income
GAAP gross margin of 75.0% is distinguished from non-GAAP gross margin of 75.2%. Growth in net income, which includes net non-operating gains and losses, is not attributed entirely to GPU operating profits.
The company announced that stock-based compensation would be included in non-GAAP measures beginning in FY2027 Q1. The current quarter uses the previous definition, so a simple comparison of non-GAAP expenses with next quarter requires care.
- Operating income
- 44.299 B$
- Net non-operating income/loss
- 6.099 B$
- Income tax expense
- −7.438 B$
- Consolidated net income
- 42.960 B$
Net income of 42.960 B$ in the existing quarterly data is on a consolidated basis.
03 Cash flow quality · Net income → OCF → FCF
Company FCF of 34.902 B$ is OCF of 36.190 B$ less purchases of property, equipment and intangible assets of 1.284 B$ and related principal payments of 0.004 B$. Financial investments and acquisition spending are considered separately from this FCF.
- Consolidated net income
- 42.960 B$
- Total net adjustments, including non-cash items and working capital¹
- −6.770 B$
- Operating cash flow
- 36.190 B$
- Cash CapEx
- −1.284 B$
- Additional company-defined adjustments and disclosure rounding²
- −0.004 B$
- Company-defined FCF
- 34.902 B$
¹ Total net adjustments calculated as OCF minus net income. This is not a single disclosed line item; it combines non-cash items, working capital, classification differences and other adjustments.
² Difference between company FCF and OCF minus cash CapEx. The detailed scope follows the explanation above and the original definition.
FCF versus the previous quarter · 22.089 → 34.902 B$, a 12.813 B$ improvement.
04 Financial capacity · Net debt and payment obligations
Previous-quarter net cash · 2025-10-26
Cash and liquid assets 60.608 / Borrowings 8.467 B$
Current-quarter net cash · 2026-01-25
Cash and liquid assets 62.556 / Borrowings 8.468 B$
Net debt improved by 1.947 B$ from the previous quarter. The carrying amount of current borrowings is 0.999 B$. This may differ from the principal maturity schedule.
Interest-bearing borrowings are subtracted from cash and current marketable securities. Because equity investment valuation gains and losses differ in timing and classification from actual cash flows, net income alone is not used to assess liquidity.
Common definitions · Cash and liquid assets = cash equivalents + current investments and deposits. Borrowings = carrying amount of interest-bearing debt (current + non-current), excluding separate lease liabilities. This differs from total liabilities of 49.510 B$. Restricted cash, non-current securities and non-current deposits are excluded from cash and liquid assets.
05 Investment, capital allocation and cash recovery
The company cited increased customer investment in AI computing as a growth driver. A low ratio of its own capital expenditure does not eliminate supply-chain procurement risk or customer credit and purchasing concentration risks.
This quarter, cash CapEx/revenue was 1.9% and FCF/revenue was 51.2%. These ratios should not be used as a simple ranking of companies with different business models and FCF definitions.
06 Next-quarter and full-year outlook and implications
YoY +73.5%~+80.6% · QoQ +12.2%~+16.8%. Comparison revenue was 44.062 B$ in the corresponding prior-year quarter and 68.127 B$ in the current quarter. Growth rates were calculated from the underlying amounts.
The next-quarter revenue outlook of 78.000 B$ ±2% assumed no Data Center compute revenue from China. The GAAP gross margin outlook was 74.9% ±0.5%p.
RPO / Backlog
QoQ 2.500 → 2.300 B$ (−8.0% · −0.200 B$).
YoY 1.700 → 2.300 B$ (+35.3% · +0.600 B$).
Disclosed long-term remaining performance obligations. This differs from total GPU orders, purchase commitments and amounts securing supply capacity · Contract balances are not equivalent to committed next-quarter revenue or cash inflows. RPO scope differs across companies.
RPO disclosure ↗Quarterly results · CY-aligned view
Amounts in B$. The table shows all 4 quarters of the prior year and the current year's reported quarters, based on the report's CY-aligned year. Each fiscal quarter is assigned to the calendar quarter with the greatest overlap in its actual reporting period; the original FY/CY label and start and end dates are also shown. Amounts have not been recalculated into actual calendar quarters.
| CY alignment | 2024 · 4 quarters | 2025 · 4 quarters | Change this quarter | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | 2024 total4-quarter totalBalances are at period end | 1QFY25 Q124-01-29 ~24-04-28 | 2QFY25 Q224-04-29 ~24-07-28 | 3QFY25 Q324-07-29 ~24-10-27 | 4QFY25 Q424-10-28 ~25-01-26 | 2025 total4-quarter totalBalances are at period end | 1QFY26 Q125-01-27 ~25-04-27 | 2QFY26 Q225-04-28 ~25-07-27 | 3QFY26 Q325-07-28 ~25-10-26 | 4QFY26 Q425-10-27 ~26-01-25 | QoQvs FY26 Q3 | YoYvs FY25 Q4 |
| Revenue | 130.497 | 26.044 | 30.040 | 35.082 | 39.331 | 215.938 | 44.062 | 46.743 | 57.006 | 68.127 | +19.5%+11.121 B$ | +73.2%+28.796 B$ |
| Operating income | 81.454 | 16.909 | 18.642 | 21.869 | 24.034 | 130.387 | 21.638 | 28.440 | 36.010 | 44.299 | +23.0%+8.289 B$ | +84.3%+20.265 B$ |
| Operating margin | 62.4% | 64.9% | 62.1% | 62.3% | 61.1% | 60.4% | 49.1% | 60.8% | 63.2% | 65.0% | +1.9%p | +3.9%p |
| FCF · Company definition | 60.725 | 14.936 | 13.483 | 16.787 | 15.519 | 96.576 | 26.135 | 13.450 | 22.089 | 34.902 | +12.813 B$ | +19.383 B$ |
| Operating cash flow | 64.091 | 15.345 | 14.489 | 17.629 | 16.628 | 102.719 | 27.414 | 15.365 | 23.750 | 36.190 | +52.4%+12.440 B$ | +117.6%+19.562 B$ |
| Cash CapEx | 3.236 | 0.369 | 0.977 | 0.813 | 1.077 | 6.042 | 1.227 | 1.894 | 1.637 | 1.284 | −21.6%−0.353 B$ | +19.2%+0.207 B$ |
| Net cash | 34.747 | 21.728 | 26.339 | 30.025 | 34.747 | 54.088 | 45.227 | 48.325 | 52.141 | 54.088 | +1.947 B$ | +19.341 B$ |
| Cash and liquid assets | 43.210 | 31.438 | 34.800 | 38.487 | 43.210 | 62.556 | 53.691 | 56.791 | 60.608 | 62.556 | +3.2%+1.948 B$ | +44.8%+19.346 B$ |
| Borrowings | 8.463 | 9.710 | 8.461 | 8.462 | 8.463 | 8.468 | 8.464 | 8.466 | 8.467 | 8.468 | +0.0%+0.001 B$ | +0.1%+0.005 B$ |
Indented rows are components of, or reference items for, the parent metric. Net cash = cash and liquid assets − borrowings. Depending on company definitions, FCF may include additional adjustments such as lease principal and therefore differ from operating cash flow − cash CapEx. See the cash flow discussion for the detailed definition.
Annual totals and year-to-date totals precede the quarters for each year. Revenue, earnings and cash flow are sums of quarterly values; operating margin equals total operating income divided by total revenue; net cash, cash and borrowings are the final quarter's ending balances. Do not make a simple annual comparison of totals covering different period lengths.
Net cash = cash and liquid assets − borrowings. A negative value indicates net debt. Changes in FCF and net cash are shown as absolute amounts in B$. Quarterly values were not adjusted to match disclosed annual totals.
Comparison bases, calculations and quarterly sources
Calculations and presentation · Amounts in B$. US disclosures in millions of dollars were preserved by dividing by 1,000. Where only cumulative cash flow was available, the preceding cumulative amount in the same fiscal year was subtracted. YoY, QoQ and margins were calculated before display rounding. Earnings growth from negative or 0 bases is shown as a sign change and/or absolute amount.
Opinions and outlook · Management quotations include short original excerpts and translations. Unless identified as earnings call transcripts, quotations come from earnings releases. Interpretations and implications are the author's judgments. No numerically unverified probabilities of achieving targets are assigned.