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NVIDIA NVDA reported mixed first-quarter fiscal 2026 results. Though the AI darling lagged earnings estimates, it reported record-breaking revenues, which topped estimates. NVIDIA shares jumped as much as 6% in after-hours trading.
Investors seeking to tap the company's growth could invest in ETFs having the largest allocation to the AI chipmaker. Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF SHOC, VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF SMH, VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF SMHX, YieldMax Target 12 Semiconductor Option Income ETF SOXY and Columbia Select Technology ETF SEMI could be compelling options.
NVIDIA’s Q1 Earnings in Focus
The company’s earnings per share were 81 cents for the first quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents and up from 61 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. This marked an end to nine straight quarters of earnings beats. Revenues surged 69% year over year to a record $44.1 billion and beat the consensus mark of $42.70 billion.
The impressive performance was largely driven by a booming data center business. The blockbuster results were driven by incredible demand for NVIDIA's latest AI chips. Data Center revenues, which account for much of NVIDIA’s revenues, jumped 73% year over year to $39.1 billion (read:NVIDIA Reclaims $3 Trillion: ETFs to Bet On).
The gaming division also performed strongly, with revenues climbing 42% year over year to $3.8 billion. This growth was bolstered by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, which features NVIDIA’s chips and AI-powered DLSS technology supporting up to 4K gaming. NVIDIA’s graphics processing capabilities, historically focused on gaming, are now increasingly used in AI applications, highlighting the broadening utility of its technology.
NVIDIA’s automotive and robotics segment saw a 72% revenue increase, reaching $567 million. Growth in this area was driven by rising demand for self-driving car chips and robotics software, including a significant advance in humanoid robotics. The company introduced Isaac GR00T N1 — the world’s first open humanoid robot foundation model — and outlined plans to deepen its involvement in robotics development.
The demand for NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence (AI) chips, especially for large cloud providers and AI supercomputing, continues to surge. NVIDIA is building factories in the United States and working with its partners to produce AI supercomputers. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said, "Countries around the world are recognizing AI as essential infrastructure – just like electricity and the internet – and NVIDIA stands at the center of this profound transformation."
Its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, said that Microsoft has “deployed tens of thousands of Blackwell GPUs and is expected to ramp to hundreds of thousands” of the company’s GB200 product, due largely to its partnership with OpenAI.
NVIDIA is also accelerating its global expansion. It recently announced plans to build AI factories in the United States and Saudi Arabia and launched the Stargate UAE AI infrastructure cluster in Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, NVIDIA has expanded collaborations with major cloud providers, including Oracle, Google, and Microsoft. Its Blackwell-based cloud instances are now available on AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (read: Stocks & ETFs to Benefit From Trump's Stargate Project).
Looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the graphics chipmaker expects revenues of $45 billion, plus or minus 2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $45.1 billion. This guidance includes an estimated $8 billion hit from H20 export restrictions, largely impacting sales to China. The AI darling has lost billions in revenues from Trump's ban on its chip exports to China. Despite this, NVIDIA remains confident in the ongoing global demand for its AI infrastructure.