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NVIDIA CORP (NVDA)·Q3 2026 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • NVIDIA delivered record Q3 FY26 revenue of $57.0B (+22% q/q, +62% y/y) and GAAP EPS of $1.30; both metrics exceeded Wall Street consensus, driven by continued Blackwell adoption and outsized Data Center growth. Revenue beat: $57.0B vs $55.1B*; EPS beat: $1.30 vs $1.26* .
  • Data Center posted $51.2B (+25% q/q, +66% y/y), with GB300 crossing GB200 and Networking up 162% y/y on NVLink, InfiniBand and Spectrum-X Ethernet; H20 sales were “insignificant.” Management reiterated that “cloud GPUs are sold out.”
  • Q4 FY26 guidance was raised materially: revenue $65.0B ±2% and non-GAAP GM ~75%, ahead of Street revenue expectations ($62.95B*), implying ~14% q/q growth; outlook excludes China data center compute revenue assumptions. Bold guide and sold-out commentary are likely stock catalysts.
  • Balance sheet and cash flow strengthened: FCF $22.1B, cash/securities $60.6B, and multi-year cloud service agreements surged to $26.0B (from $12.6B q/q), while NVIDIA returned $12.7B to shareholders.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

  • What Went Well

    • Record Data Center revenue ($51.2B), with GB300 now two-thirds of Blackwell revenue; Networking up 162% y/y as NVLink, InfiniBand and Spectrum-X scale with AI factories. “Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out.”
    • Margins improved sequentially as Blackwell ramped with better mix and costs; GAAP GM rose to 73.4% (non-GAAP 73.6%).
    • Visibility and ecosystem momentum: partnership announcements (OpenAI 10 GW; Anthropic adopting NVIDIA; Rubin on track for 2H26) reinforce multi-year demand; management cites a $500B Blackwell+Rubin revenue pipeline through CY26.

  • What Went Wrong

    • China remains constrained: Q4 outlook “not assuming any data center compute revenue from China”; H20 sales were insignificant in Q3 amid licensing and competitive dynamics.
    • Gross margin is still below prior-year levels (y/y down ~120–140 bps GAAP/non-GAAP) given mix shift from HGX systems to fuller datacenter solutions.
    • Inventory and supply commitments increased to support growth (inventory $19.8B; supply-related commitments $50.3B), raising execution and working capital demands if demand moderates.

Financial Results

Headline P&L vs prior periods and estimates

MetricQ3 FY25Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Notes
Revenue ($B)$35.08 $46.74 $57.01 Q3 FY26 vs Street: $55.09B*
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)$0.78 $1.08 $1.30 Q3 FY26 vs Street: $1.256*
Non-GAAP Diluted EPS ($)$0.81 $1.05 $1.30
GAAP Gross Margin %74.6% 72.4% 73.4%
Non-GAAP Gross Margin %75.0% 72.7% 73.6%
GAAP Operating Income ($B)$21.87 $28.44 $36.01

Actual vs consensus (Q3 FY26)

MetricActualConsensus*
Revenue ($B)$57.01 $55.09*
Primary EPS ($)$1.30 $1.256*

Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Segment Revenue (Market Platform; $B)

PlatformQ3 FY25Q2 FY26Q3 FY26
Data Center30.77 41.10 51.22
Compute27.64 33.84 43.03
Networking3.13 7.25 8.19
Gaming3.28 4.29 4.27
Professional Visualization0.49 0.60 0.76
Automotive0.45 0.59 0.59
OEM & Other0.10 0.17 0.17

Reportable Segments ($B)

SegmentQ3 FY25Q2 FY26Q3 FY26
Compute & Networking31.04 41.33 50.91
Graphics4.05 5.41 6.10
Total35.08 46.74 57.01

KPI/Balance Sheet/Cash Flow

KPIQ2 FY26Q3 FY26
Cash, cash equivalents & marketable securities ($B)56.79 60.61
Accounts receivable ($B); DSO (days)27.81; 54 33.39; 53
Inventory ($B)14.96 19.78
Supply-related commitments ($B)45.8 50.3
Multi-year cloud service agreements ($B)12.6 (sequential) 26.0
Cash from operations ($B)15.37 23.75
Free cash flow ($B)13.45 22.09
Shareholder returns in quarter ($B)10.0 12.7

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious Guidance (from Q2 FY26)Current Guidance (from Q3 FY26)Change
RevenueQ3 FY26$54.0B ±2% ——
RevenueQ4 FY26—$65.0B ±2% Introduced; sequentially higher vs Q3
GAAP Gross MarginQ3 FY2673.3% ±50 bps ——
GAAP Gross MarginQ4 FY26—74.8% ±50 bps Introduced; higher vs Q3 guide
Non-GAAP Gross MarginQ3 FY2673.5% ±50 bps ——
Non-GAAP Gross MarginQ4 FY26—75.0% ±50 bps Introduced; higher vs Q3 guide
GAAP OpExQ3 FY26~$5.9B ——
GAAP OpExQ4 FY26—~$6.7B Introduced; higher with growth
Non-GAAP OpExQ3 FY26~$4.2B ——
Non-GAAP OpExQ4 FY26—~$5.0B Introduced; higher with growth
OI&E (GAAP/Non-GAAP)Q3 FY26+$500M ——
OI&E (GAAP/Non-GAAP)Q4 FY26—+$500M Maintained
Tax Rate (GAAP/Non-GAAP)Q3 FY2616.5% ±1% ——
Tax Rate (GAAP/Non-GAAP)Q4 FY26—17.0% ±1% Slightly higher
DividendQ4 FY26 timing—$0.01 per share on Dec 26, 2025 Maintained

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)Current Period (Q3 FY26)Trend
AI infrastructure demand & visibilityQ2: Blackwell GB300/Ultra ramp; hyperscaler CapEx at ~$600B CY26; RTX Pro servers in production; sovereign AI momentum . Q1: Blackwell Ultra launch; H20 export charge; working toward mid-70s GM late year .“Clouds are sold out”; $500B Blackwell+Rubin revenue visibility through CY26; GB300 > GB200; agentic AI adoption accelerating .Upward demand/visibility
Product performance/roadmapQ2: NVLink 72 rack-scale, MLPerf leadership; Rubin taped out, on schedule for 2H26 .Blackwell Ultra wins MLPerf Training/Inference, 10x throughput/MW vs prior gen; Rubin on track; NVQLink and NVLink Fusion expanding ecosystem .Leadership reinforced
Supply chain & manufacturingQ2: GB300 production underway; ~1,000 racks/week; inventory build for ramps .First Blackwell wafer produced in U.S. at TSMC Arizona; preparing for significant growth; supply partners aligned .Capacity scaling
China/geopoliticsQ2: H20 licensing; possible $2–$5B H20 in Q3 if licenses arrive; Singapore invoicing mix .Q4 outlook assumes no China data center compute; H20 sales insignificant in Q3 .Constraint persists
NetworkingQ2: Networking record; Spectrum-X Ethernet annualized >$10B; XDR InfiniBand adoption .Networking $8.2B (+162% y/y) on NVLink, InfiniBand, Spectrum-X; NVLink Fusion collaborations (Fujitsu, Intel) .Strong acceleration
Partnerships/sovereign AIQ2: Europe/UK initiatives; RTX PRO servers; sovereign AI >$20B this year .OpenAI 10 GW; Anthropic 1 GW; UK, Germany, Korea expansions; Hyundai AI factory (50k Blackwell GPUs) .Broadening globally

Management Commentary

  • “Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out. Compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference — each growing exponentially.” — Jensen Huang, CEO
  • “We currently have visibility to $500 billion in Blackwell and Rubin revenue from the start of this year through the end of calendar year 2026.” — Management prepared remarks
  • “Consistent with last quarter, we are not assuming any data center compute revenue from China.” — Colette Kress, CFO (Q4 outlook)
  • “Our networking business…generated revenue of $8.2 billion, up 162% year over year, with NVLink, InfiniBand, and Spectrum X Ethernet all contributing to growth.” — Management

Q&A Highlights

  • Demand/supply balance: Management reiterated “clouds are sold out,” with multi-year ecosystem and supply chain planning; demand drivers span accelerated computing, generative and agentic AI across industries .
  • China and H20: Licenses remain a swing factor; Q4 guide assumes no China compute. H20 Q3 sales were insignificant amid competitive and regulatory dynamics .
  • Inference mix and leadership: NVIDIA expects inference to be a very large part of the market; GB200/GB300 NVLink 72 delivers 10–15x higher performance for complex inference vs prior gen .
  • Bottlenecks: Multiple constraints (power, memory, foundry, financing) exist at this scale, but management views them as solvable; planning and architecture perf/Watt critical .
  • ASIC competition: NVIDIA emphasized full-stack, multi-chip rack-scale differentiation, ubiquity across clouds, and ecosystem offtake as key advantages vs custom ASICs .

Estimates Context

  • Q3 FY26 results beat consensus: Revenue $57.01B vs $55.09B*; EPS $1.30 vs $1.256* .
  • Q4 FY26 guidance outpaces Street on revenue: Guide $65.0B ±2% vs consensus $62.95B*; implied ~14% q/q growth and ~150 bps GM uplift vs prior quarter guidance range .
  • Implication: Street models likely move higher for Q4 and FY26/FY27 on stronger top-line run-rate and mid-70s GM trajectory; management also signaled intent to “hold” GM in mid-70s in FY27 despite rising input costs .
    Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Another high-quality beat driven by Data Center (compute + networking) and Blackwell ramp; guidance implies continued acceleration into Q4. Expect estimate revisions up.
  • Networking is becoming a second engine of growth (NVLink/InfiniBand/Spectrum-X) with 162% y/y increase; architecture-level advantage at rack-scale supports multi-year share and margin durability.
  • Gross margins improved sequentially and are guided to ~75% in Q4, with management targeting mid-70s into FY27 despite input cost pressures—supportive of sustained earnings power.
  • China remains a known overhang; Q4 outlook excludes compute revenue from China, reducing downside risk from licensing timetables.
  • Cash generation is exceptional (Q3 FCF $22.1B) and funding both capacity commitments (supply obligations $50.3B) and shareholder returns ($12.7B in Q3).
  • Strategic partnerships (OpenAI, Anthropic, Hyundai, sovereign AI builds) deepen demand visibility and expand TAM across compute, networking, and physical AI.
  • Near-term trading: Bold Q4 guide, “sold-out” commentary, and NVLink/GB300 momentum are positive catalysts; watch for any shifts in China licensing and supply cadence into Rubin ramp.

Supporting Detail

  • Non-GAAP adjustments: In Q3, GAAP and non-GAAP EPS were both $1.30; non-GAAP excludes stock-based comp, acquisition-related items, securities gains/losses, and related tax effects. Q2 included a $180M release of H20 reserves; Q1 included a $4.5B H20 charge.
  • Free cash flow definition and reconciliations are provided in the company’s non-GAAP disclosures.

Additional Relevant Press Releases (Q3 FY26 timeframe)

  • NVIDIA and Hyundai Motor Group announced an AI factory collaboration in Korea (targeting 50,000 Blackwell GPUs), underpinning physical AI initiatives across AVs, smart factories and robotics.