NVIDIA (NVDA) continues to defy gravity – and skeptics – as it cements its position as the undisputed leader in AI computing. I've been following this stock for years, and what they've accomplished still amazes me.
The numbers tell an extraordinary story: data center revenue exploded by 409% in 2023, and their fiscal year 2025 revenue reached a staggering $130.5 billion – that's a 114% year-over-year increase. For context, that's like adding the entire revenue of a company like Netflix to your business in a single year.
What's driving this growth? In a word: dominance. NVIDIA's GPUs have become the essential infrastructure for the AI revolution, and their newest Blackwell chips are widening the gap even further. These monsters accelerate inference speeds by 30x compared to previous generations – the kind of leap that makes competitors nervous and customers eager to upgrade.
Wall Street has taken notice, with analysts projecting 2025 price targets between $160 and $190 per share. That's a potential upside of 23% to 46% from current levels – not bad for a company that's already grown so substantially.
"I bought NVIDIA at $24 back in 2019 and everyone told me I was crazy for paying that much," says Melissa Chen, a software engineer and retail investor I spoke with. "Now it's trading around $130, and I'm still not selling. Their pace of innovation is just unmatched."
The stock pulled back about 8% from its recent highs amid the broader market decline, but has shown remarkable resilience compared to other tech names. Yesterday, NVDA closed at $129.75, down just 2.3% while the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.1%.
Of course, there are risks. The stock trades at a premium valuation (forward P/E of 32), and competition from AMD (AMD), Intel (INTC), and various AI startups is intensifying. There's also the question of whether AI spending can maintain its torrid pace if economic conditions worsen.
But for now, NVIDIA remains the pick-and-shovel play for the AI gold rush – and from what I've seen, this revolution is just getting started.
