Nvidia Results Surpass Estimates; Stock Up 5%

(RTTNews) - Graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp (NVDA) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $193 million or $0.35 per share compared with $147 million or $0.25 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.43 per share compared with $0.32 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were up 9% at $1.25 billion compared with $1.14 billion in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.29 per share on revenues of $1.20 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

"Momentum is accelerating in each of our market-specialized platforms, driving record revenue in the quarter and full year," said Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia chief executive officer.

Nvidia's gross margin for the quarter rose to 55.9% from 54.1% last year, aiding the results.

For the first quarter, the company expects earnings revenues of $1.16 billion, plus or minus two percent. Analysts expect revenues of $1.15 billion.

Nvidia plans to return about $600 million to shareholders through ongoing quarterly cash dividends and share repurchases in fiscal 2016.

The company will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share on March 19.