A top Nvidia executive said President Trump’s potential tariffs and export controls on its powerful computer chips remain an “unknown” — sending its stock sliding despite better-than-expected quarterly profits.
Nvidia shares were off more than 4% Thursday morning as investor digested a mixed outlook from CEO Jensen Huang’s firm in its fourth quarter earnings report.
Wall Street remains anxious about macroeconomic factors as Trump ramps up the pressure on China. Nvidia CFO Colleen Kress acknowledged the uncertainty during a call with analysts.
“Tariffs, at this point, it’s a little bit of an unknown,” Kress said. “It’s an unknown until we understand further what the US government’s plan is, both its timing, it’s ‘where’ and how much. So, at this time, we are awaiting, but again, we would, of course, always follow export controls and/or tariffs in that manner.”
While earnings and revenue came in above expectations, skeptics pointed to a slight downtick in margins as Nvidia ramps up production of its new Blackwell AI chips. Revenue surged 78% to $39.33 billion, but growth has slowed slightly from its torrid pace as Nvidia grows larger.
Nvidia projected sales of $43 billion in the current quarter – a number which came in higher than consensus estimates but nevertheless appeared to rattle some analysts. Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk described the guidance as “slightly underwhelming.”
In a Thursday morning post on Truth Social, Trump said he would impose another 10% tariff on China – in addition to the 10% tariff it already faces on imports. Tariffs against Mexico and Canada will take effect on March 4.
Adding to the uncertainty, the president previously floated a potential “25% and higher” tariff on computer chips.
Nvidia fell alongside the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, which was down about 200 points or 1% in early trading.
Nvidia is the leading supplier of cutting-edge AI chips, with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI among its clients.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Nvidia’s results suggest the “AI revolution thesis” remains “rock solid” despite the market jitters. He reiterated a view that Nvidia will hit a $4 trillion market cap this year.
“Are there worries about Trump tariffs, export controls, and other macro factors? Of course there are,” Ives said in a note to clients.
“But our view is ultimately the bark will be worse than the bite with China tariffs/export controls and this is all a game of high stakes poker to drive a deal with China at the negotiating table sometime in 2025,” Ives added.
Huang told analysts that demand for the Blackwell chips is “extraordinary” and predicted big things ahead for AI development.
“We are just at the start of the age of AI…We will grow strongly in 2025,” he said.
Top Trump administration officials have suggested the country could tighten export controls limit China’s access to Nvidia best chips, which are required to train and power advanced AI chatbots.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick singled out Nvidia’s role in China’s rapid advancement in AI during his confirmation hearing last month – shortly after Chinese firm DeepSeek unended the tech sector by claiming it had developed a powerful model for less than $6 million.
“Nvidia’s chips, which they bought tons of, and they found their ways around, drive their DeepSeek model. It’s got to end,” Lutnick said.
