Eastern Time, February 25, 2026, Nvidia released its Q4 FY2026 financial report, ending January 25, 2026. Key data shows that the company’s revenue reached $68.1 billion, up 73% year-over-year, surpassing the market consensus of $66 billion; data center revenue was $62.3 billion, up 75%, also exceeding analyst expectations of $60.4 billion. Driven by strong performance and optimistic guidance for the next quarter, Nvidia’s stock price briefly rose over 3% in after-hours trading.

From AI Investment Overheating Controversy to Earnings Validation: Timeline Review

This earnings release occurs at a delicate macro and industry juncture. Since early 2025, as multiple tech giants continued ramping up AI infrastructure investments, widespread discussions emerged about “AI investment overheating” and “bubbles.” Investors are divided on whether large cloud providers can sustain absorbing the high costs of GPU procurement. Against this backdrop, Nvidia, as a core supplier of AI computing power, is seen as a key benchmark for validating industry demand.

Timeline Recap:

• January 2026: Several hyperscalers’ earnings reports show continued expansion of capital expenditures, with total annual spending estimated near $700 billion.
• Early February 2026: Jensen Huang gave an early signal in an interview, calling AI investment “the largest infrastructure build in human history.”
• February 25, 2026: Nvidia officially released its Q4 earnings, responding to market concerns with record-breaking data.
• February 26, 2026: During the earnings call, management further elaborated on the progress of the Blackwell platform and the core logic of “compute power equals revenue.”

Data Perspective: Structural Growth in Data Center Business Reaching $62.3 Billion

This quarter’s earnings not only exceeded in total but also showed clear growth drivers structurally.

Core Revenue Driver: Data Center Business Dominance

In Q4, data center revenue contributed over 91% of total revenue, reaching $62.3 billion, up 75%. This growth was mainly driven by the capacity release of its new generation Blackwell architecture products. The earnings call disclosed that Blackwell systems accounted for about two-thirds of data center revenue this quarter. Network infrastructure, as a key part of data centers, generated $10.98 billion, up 263%, indicating strong market demand for high-performance interconnect technologies like NVLink.

Other Business Performance: Gaming Revenue Slightly Declined Sequentially

Compared to the impressive data center results, gaming revenue was $3.7 billion, up 47%, but down 13% sequentially, slightly below market expectations of $4.01 billion. The company explained this was mainly due to channel inventory adjustments after the holiday season, and also warned that gaming chip supply would remain tight in the coming quarters.

Key Metrics Comparison (FY2026 Q4):

Data Source: Company Financials

Market Divergence: Euphoria with Underlying Concerns and Controversies

Market reactions to this earnings report are not uniformly euphoric but show a complex picture of mainstream affirmation mixed with potential worries.

Mainstream View: Strong Performance Dismantles Short-term Doubts

Most analysts and investors believe this report effectively alleviates concerns about the sustainability of AI investments. The positive after-hours stock response indicates the market is willing to believe that AI infrastructure development remains in its early stages. Strategists at Zacks Investment Management noted that even if demand structures change, Nvidia’s position as the preferred AI hardware provider is unlikely to be challenged in the short term.

Controversial View: Customer Concentration and Demand Peak

A key point of debate during the earnings call was customer composition. Although Nvidia’s CFO emphasized diversification, hyperscalers still contributed over 50% of data center revenue. Analysts worry that once these core customers’ capital expenditures peak and begin to decline, Nvidia’s growth could be directly impacted. Additionally, the sequential decline in gaming revenue and ongoing supply constraints for storage chips are seen as potential short-term risks.

Examining the “Jensen Huang Narrative”: The Reality and Boundaries of “Compute Power as Revenue”

When evaluating Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang’s narrative of “AI compute power as perpetual growth,” it’s important to distinguish facts, opinions, and speculation.

• Facts: Data center revenue has maintained over 70% YoY growth for multiple quarters, and Blackwell products are in high demand—these are concrete performance supports.
• Opinions: Huang’s claims that “compute power equals revenue” and “AI inflection point has arrived” are essentially extrapolations based on current trends for future business models. The logical chain is: stronger compute -> better models -> more intelligent agents -> higher token revenues -> customers capable of sustained investment.
• Speculation: Assertions that AI will trigger “the next industrial revolution” or that all companies will become “AI factories” are speculative about industry outlook. Currently, it’s verifiable that leading cloud providers have gained significant financial returns through AI functionalities (e.g., Meta’s ad recommendations), but whether this pattern can be replicated across all industries remains to be seen.

Spillover Effects of Compute Infrastructure: Dual Mapping to Crypto and Tech Sectors

Nvidia’s earnings have indirect but profound implications for the crypto industry and broader tech sector.

Consensus Reinforcement of Compute as an Underlying Asset

The report confirms that high-performance computing resources (GPUs) are core productivity assets in the digital economy. For the crypto industry, this reinforces the narrative of “compute power as an asset.” While the chip demands for mining and AI differ, both share the underlying logic of “proof of compute value.” As AI continues to absorb GPU resources, scarcity expectations for high-performance hardware are likely to intensify.

Anchoring Effect of Tech Giants’ Capital Expenditure Guidance

Nvidia’s guidance of $78 billion in revenue for the next quarter, well above Wall Street’s estimate of $72.6 billion, provides a positive signal for core clients like Microsoft, Google, and Meta. As long as these clients continue their procurement, the infrastructure investment narrative around AI and cloud computing will remain intact, indirectly stabilizing risk assets including the crypto market.

Future Scenarios: Three Possible Directions for Compute Development

Based on current financial data, industry evolution could follow these scenarios:

Conclusion: The Next Threshold for the Compute Narrative

Nvidia’s latest earnings temporarily quell the “AI bubble” chatter with solid data, reaffirming the strong momentum of global compute demand. However, behind these impressive numbers, concerns about customer concentration, supply chain resilience, and the speed of application deployment remain. Whether Jensen Huang’s “compute power as revenue” narrative can sustain itself depends on how efficiently AI transitions from infrastructure investment to actual value creation. For the crypto industry, every twist in this compute race will profoundly influence the valuation logic of underlying resources.