Nvidia nabs $2T valuation, S&P and Dow hit records with Nasdaq close behind
Nvidia is the gift that keeps on giving for stock investors after the chipmaker cemented its lead in the AI revolution, helping send U.S. stocks to record highs.
Nvidia has investors cheering the AI boom, which in turn is helping U.S. stocks rise to fresh record highs.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hit new records on Friday while the Nasdaq Composite is just shy of its all-time high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is looking at its first record close since November 2021 and needs to finish at 16,057.44 to hit that level.
Nvidia wowed investors this week after posting revenue that rose 265% from the prior year. The chipmaker, which has been coined the "MVP" of AI, cemented its lead in the sector.
"This last year, we've seen a generative AI really becoming a whole new application space, a whole new way of doing computing, a whole new industry is being formed and that's driving our growth" said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on the company's earnings call. "Conditions are excellent for continued growth calendar '24, to calendar '25 and beyond" he noted.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
The company's market value rose to $2 trillion for the first time on Friday and needs to close above $801.92 per share to maintain that title. The stock is at a fresh record with year-to-date gains of more than 65%. The Nasdaq is up just 7% over the same time frame.
Tim Armstrong, the former CEO of AOL who now heads Flowcode, said Nvidia is well positioned for more growth.
"It is one of the most unique companies in the world and the fact that they were in the video game business, which required them to essentially use AI to render video games to the toughest consumers in the world, which are gamers… It's migrated to everyone's business," he said during an appearance on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast."
Huang has seen his net worth explode by more than $9 billion this week alone to over $69 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has referred to Huang as the "godfather" of AI. The company has several events coming up that could be catalysts for the stock. On March 4th it will present at a Morgan Stanley tech conference, followed by another presentation the following day hosted by TD Cowen.