NVIDIA Q4 Financial Results Exceed Estimates

By Nathan Kirsch

NVIDIA Reports Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2014

GPU Business Delivers Across Gaming, Workstation, High-Performance Computing

  • Fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $1.14 billion.
  • Quarterly GAAP diluted EPS of $0.25, up from $0.20 in Q3; non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.32, up from $0.26 in Q3.
  • Quarterly GAAP gross margin of 54.1 percent; non-GAAP gross margin of 53.8 percent.

NVIDIA Logo

SANTA CLARA, CA – NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, ended Jan. 26, 2014, of $1.14 billion, up 8.6 percent from $1.05 billion in the previous quarter.

GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.25, up 25 percent from $0.20 in the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.32, up 23 percent from $0.26 in the previous quarter.

“Quarterly revenue came in well above our outlook, driven by PC gaming, capping an outstanding year for our GPU business,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. “Tesla and Quadro both achieved record annual revenue. GRID cloud technology is being evaluated at hundreds of large enterprises worldwide. And Tegra K1 is disrupting the auto industry, paving the way to self-piloted cars. The groundbreaking work we are doing in visual computing is expanding the opportunities for our GPUs.”

During the quarter, NVIDIA repurchased $37 million of stock and paid a dividend of $0.085 per share, equivalent to $48 million. During the year, NVIDIA returned $1.07 billion to shareholders — $887 million towards the repurchase of 62 million shares and dividend payments totaling $181 million. NVIDIA will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share on Mar. 20, 2014, to all shareholders of record on Feb. 27, 2014.

Revenue for the full year was $4.13 billion. GAAP earnings per diluted share for the year were $0.74 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for the year were $0.99.

GAAP Quarterly Financial Comparison
(in millions except earnings per share) Q4 FY14 Q3 FY14 Q4 FY13 Q/Q Y/Y
Revenue $1,144 $1,054 $1,107 up 9% up 3%
Gross margin 54.1% 55.4% 52.9% down 130 bps up 120 bps
Operating expenses $452 $443 $402 up 2% up 13%
Net income $147 $119 $174 up 24% down 16%
Earnings per share $0.25 $0.20 $0.28 up 25% down 11%
Non-GAAP Quarterly Financial Comparison
(in millions except earnings per share) Q4 FY14 Q3 FY14 Q4 FY13 Q/Q Y/Y
Revenue $1,144 $1,054 $1,107 up 9% up 3%
Gross margin 53.8% 55.7% 53.2% down 190 bps up 60 bps
Operating expenses $408 $405 $360 up 1% up 13%
Net income $187 $154 $215 up 22% down 13%
Earnings per share $0.32 $0.26 $0.35 up 23% down 9%

Among highlights of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, NVIDIA:

  • Grew GeForce GTX GPU revenue nearly 50 percent over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
  • Launched Tegra K1, NVIDIA’s next-generation mobile system-on-a-chip, extending the Kepler architecture across the company’s entire line of processors.
  • Demonstrated Denver, NVIDIA’s custom 64-bit ARM core inside Tegra K1. This was the first time Android had been shown running on 64-bit ARM.
  • Announced Audi is introducing a new Tegra-powered infotainment system, smart display and digital cockpit. Audi also announced it will use Tegra K1 to power its future piloted-driving initiatives.
  • Launched Tesla K40, the world’s fastest accelerator for supercomputing and big data analytics.
  • Partnered with IBM to build supercomputers for the HPC community and accelerate enterprise data analytics applications with GPUs.

NVIDIA’s outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 is as follows:

  • Revenue is expected to be $1.05 billion, plus or minus two percent.
  • GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be approximately 54.2 percent and 54.5 percent, respectively.
  • GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $454 million; non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $413 million.
  • GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates for the first quarter and annual fiscal 2015 are both expected to be 20 percent, plus or minus one percent. If the U.S. R&D tax credit is renewed, the tax rate is expected to be 16 percent.
  • Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $45 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

CFO Commentary
Commentary on the quarter by Colette Kress, NVIDIA chief financial officer, is available at www.nvidia.com/ir.

Conference Call and Webcast Information
NVIDIA will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors to discuss its fourth quarter fiscal 2014 financial results and financial outlook today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). To listen to the call, please dial (212) 231-2922. A live webcast (listen-only mode) of the conference call will be accessible at the NVIDIA investor relations web site www.nvidia.com/ir and at www.streetevents.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay until the company’s conference call to discuss its financial results for its first quarter fiscal 2015.