Nvidia is riding high on chips for games and artificial intelligence, but it also got a nice one-time boost from the launch of the Nintendo Switch video game console.
Nvidia’s Tegra processor serves as the brains of the Switch, which Nintendo launched in March. The Switch works both on the TV or as a portable device, and the power-efficient Tegra helps make that dual-play capability possible.
In the fiscal first quarter ended April 30, Nvidia reported Tegra processor revenue of $332 million, up 108 percent from a year ago and up 29 percent from the previous quarter. The Tegra revenue also included record automotive processor revenue of $140 million, mainly from infotainment modules. The automotive revenue was up 24 percent from a year earlier and up 9 percent from the previous quarter.
Overall, Nvidia beat analysts expectations, reporting 85 cents a share on revenue of $1.94 billion. Analysts expected Nvidia to earn 66 cents a share on revenue of $1.91 billion. Earnings per share were up 85 percent from a year ago, and revenues were up 126 percent.
“The AI revolution is moving fast and continuing to accelerate,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, in a statement. “Nvidia’s (graphics processing unit) GPU deep learning platform is the instrument of choice for researchers, internet giants and startups as they invent the future.
“Our Datacenter GPU computing business nearly tripled from last year, as more of the world’s computer scientists engage deep learning. One industry after another is awakening to the power of GPU deep learning and AI, the most important technology force of our time,” he said.