Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) fall after earnings beat estimates

Nvidia Shares fell 4.63 percent in U.S. premarket trade on Thursday as the company’s fiscal second-quarter gross margin fell slightly and its revenue pace was eclipsed by a backdrop of rising expectations.

Nvidia on Wednesday reported revenue of more than $30 billion for the July quarter, up 122 percent from a year ago.

It was the fourth consecutive quarter of triple-digit revenue growth. But as Nvidia continues its rapid expansion, year-to-year comparisons are getting tougher.

Nvidia issued market-beating revenue guidance for its fiscal third quarter of $32.5 billion. That would mean 80% year-over-year growth, but a slowdown from the June quarter.

Meanwhile, the company said gross margins will be in the “mid-70% range” for the full year. Analysts were expecting a 76.4% margin for the full year, according to StreetAccount.

However, analysts said Nvidia would have had to beat all expectations by a lot to see a pop in the stock after the numbers.

Thursday’s stock pullback also comes after a blistering rally, with Nvidia shares up more than 150% this year so far. The stock is up more than 750% since the start of 2023 as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom. Big tech companies have stepped up investment and bought Nvidia’s graphics processing units to train large AI models.

The current slide in Nvidia’s share price also hit shares of semiconductor firms around the world, big names including memory maker Samsung and chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on Thursday.

Nvidia addressed another concern during its earnings call — the reported delays of its next-generation Blackwell AI chip.

“In the fourth quarter, we expect to deliver several billion dollars in Blackwell revenue,” Nvidia Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said on a call with analysts.

The company also announced a $50 billion share buyback program.

– CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report.