Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s wealth soared significantly on Thursday as the company he co-founded experienced a surge in value.
Ranked by Bloomberg as the 21st richest person globally, Huang’s fortune expanded by approximately $8.5 billion in a single day as Nvidia’s stock price jumped 15% during morning trading.
Now worth an estimated $68.1 billion, Huang surpassed Charles Koch and is rapidly closing in on members of the Walton family, owners of Walmart.
Huang, 61, has been at the helm of Nvidia since its inception, serving in various roles including co-founder, CEO, president, and board member. He retains around 3% ownership of the company.
Before launching Nvidia with Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, Huang attended Oregon State University and Stanford University, and worked at competitor chip companies LSI Logic and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Nvidia, now valued at just under $2 trillion, experienced a significant stock market gain following exceptional earnings growth attributed to the artificial intelligence boom.
Huang’s statement about the tipping point in generative AI further fueled investor enthusiasm, leading to a turnaround from a recent dip in Nvidia’s stock performance.
The chipmaker’s profits surged to nearly $12.3 billion in the last quarter, a staggering 769% increase year-over-year, surpassing even Wall Street’s expectations.
This strong performance contributed to a more than 580% growth in full-year profits compared to the previous year.
Other chipmakers like AMD and Microsoft also saw gains in their stock prices as a result of Nvidia’s positive news.
Nvidia’s dominance in the AI semiconductor market, accounting for about 70% of sales worldwide, was underscored by its earnings report.
Sales from its data center business saw a remarkable 409% year-over-year growth, reaching a record $18.4 billion in the fourth quarter, propelled by partnerships with industry giants like Google, Amazon, and Cisco.
Despite competition from companies like Meta, Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft entering the chip production space, Nvidia remains unmatched in producing processors for AI systems, including generative AI technology.
Goldman Sachs analysts even labeled Nvidia as “the most important stock on planet earth,” highlighting its significant impact on the broader market due to its soaring stock price, which rose approximately 230% in 2023.
Source-CNN
