NVIDIA Q4 and Fiscal 2018 Results Get Published

NVIDIA reported record revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 28, 2018, of $2.91 billion, up 34 percent from $2.17 billion a year earlier, and up 10 percent from $2.64 billion in the previous quarter. GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were a record $1.78, up 80 percent from $0.99 a year ago and up 34 percent from $1.33 in the previous quarter. 

Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.72, also a record, up 52 percent from $1.13 a year earlier and up 29 percent from $1.33 in the previous quarter. 

For fiscal 2018, revenue was a record $9.71 billion, up 41 percent from $6.91 billion a year earlier. GAAP earnings per diluted share were a record $4.82, up 88 percent from $2.57 a year earlier. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $4.92, also a record, up 61 percent from $3.06 a year earlier. "We achieved another record quarter, capping an excellent year," said Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "In a powerful sign of our progress, attendees at NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conferences reached 22,000, up tenfold in five years, as software developers working in AI, self-driving cars, and a broad range of other fields continued to discover the acceleration and money-saving benefits of our GPU computing platform.

"Industries around the world are racing to incorporate AI. Virtually every internet and cloud service provider has embraced our Volta GPUs. Hundreds of transportation companies are using our NVIDIA DRIVE platform. From manufacturing and healthcare to smart cities, innovators are using our platform to invent the future," he said.

Capital Return
During fiscal 2018, NVIDIA returned $1.25 billion to shareholders through a combination of $909 million in share repurchases and $341 million in quarterly cash dividends.

For fiscal 2019, NVIDIA intends to return $1.25 billion to shareholders through ongoing quarterly cash dividends and share repurchases.

NVIDIA will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share on March 16, 2018, to all shareholders of record on February 23, 2018.

NVIDIA's outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 is as follows:

• Revenue is expected to be $2.90 billion, plus or minus two percent.
• GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be 62.7 percent and 63.0 percent, respectively, plus or minus 50 basis points.
• GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $770 million and $645 million, respectively.
• GAAP and non-GAAP other income and expense are both expected to be nominal.
• GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates are both expected to be 12 percent, plus or minus one percent, excluding any discrete items. GAAP discrete items include excess tax benefits or deficiencies related to stock-based compensation, which the company expects to generate variability on a quarter by quarter basis.