Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Reveals $500 Billion AI Chip Backlog, Setting the Stage for a Crucial Earnings Report

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stunned investors when he announced in October that the company has secured
$500 billion in chip orders for 2025 and 2026 combined. This massive backlog highlights the extraordinary
demand for Nvidia’s AI processors and suggests that the global AI boom is far from slowing down.

For a company whose quarterly revenue has surged nearly 600% over four years, Huang’s disclosure
signals strong — though moderating — growth as Nvidia ramps production of its next-generation Blackwell and Rubin GPUs.

“This is how much business is on the books — half a trillion dollars so far,”
Huang said during the company’s GTC conference in Washington.

His remarks indicated that revenue visibility extends well into 2026, including sales from current-generation
Blackwell GPUs, next year’s Rubin lineup, and related networking hardware. Analysts said the forecast points to
higher 2026 revenue than Wall Street previously expected.

Wolfe Research analyst Chris Caso wrote that Nvidia’s disclosures suggest “clear upside to current consensus estimates”,
including a potential $60 billion increase in data center revenue versus prior 2026 forecasts.

Surprisingly, Nvidia stock still trades about 5% below where it stood when Huang made his announcement on Oct. 28,
reflecting ongoing debates about whether hyperscalers and AI labs are overspending on infrastructure.

Earnings Preview: What Wall Street Expects

Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expect:

• $1.25 earnings per share
• $54.9 billion in quarterly sales — up 56% year over year
• $61.44 billion in guidance for the January quarter, signaling reaccelerating growth

Nvidia typically does not offer guidance beyond one quarter, so investors will be paying close attention to any
comments Huang makes about 2026 demand and backlog expectations. LSEG analysts currently forecast $286.7 billion
in revenue for Nvidia in 2026.

Hyperscalers Show “Insatiable AI Appetite”

At the Washington conference, Huang said Nvidia has “visibility” into future revenue — unsurprising given that nearly every
major tech giant is a customer, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.

All four companies reported during October that they are increasing capital expenditures to expand their AI infrastructure,
which directly translates to more demand for Nvidia GPUs.

Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer described this trend as an “insatiable AI appetite.”

Major Deals: OpenAI, Intel, Nokia, and More

Analysts will also be watching for updates on Nvidia’s aggressive dealmaking:

• Up to $10 billion investment in OpenAI equity in exchange for purchasing 4–5 million GPUs.
• $5 billion deal with Intel to ensure Intel chips better integrate with Nvidia GPUs.
• $1 billion stake in Nokia to integrate Nvidia GPUs into next-generation cellular hardware.
• Additional investments across multiple emerging AI startups.

Citi analyst Atif Malik believes the OpenAI deal will be a central topic of interest this week.

Rising Competition: Custom Chips and ASICs

Although Nvidia controls more than 90% of the AI GPU market, several major customers are developing their own
custom chips — including:

• Amazon (Tranium)
• Google (TPU)
• OpenAI (new ASICs via Broadcom partnership)

Huang could address how Nvidia views this rising competition on the earnings call, something analysts say investors
would welcome.

The China Question

Notably, Nvidia’s massive projections do not include sales to China. The company’s China-specific H20 chip was
restricted from export earlier this year until Huang reached a deal with President Donald Trump that grants export licenses
in exchange for the U.S. government receiving 15% of China sales.

Still, Nvidia executives have sounded cautious about meaningful revenue from China, and the company has not yet
announced a successor to the aging H20 chip. Schafer of Oppenheimer believes the China market could be worth
over $50 billion annually if fully accessible.

When asked recently whether he wants to sell Blackwell chips to China, Huang responded:
“I hope so. But that’s a decision for President Trump to make.”