For years, bears have worried that graphics chip specialist NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) would be crushed by two trends. First, the improvement of integrated graphics processors from Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) was expected to make NVIDIA’s “discrete” GPUs all but obsolete. Second, bears expected NVIDIA to suffer (along with the rest of the PC industry) from the cannibalization of PCs by tablets.
In order to counteract some of these trends, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has poured a substantial amount of research and development into the creation of the Tegra mobile processor for smartphones and tablets. The company also bought Icera, a start-up that designed software-defined modems, and NVIDIA has now introduced its first integrated mobile processor. With these moves, NVIDIA hopes to turn the growth of mobile computing to its advantage.
However, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s recent Q1 earnings report highlighted the choppiness of growth in the Tegra mobile business. Tegra revenue was down 22% year-over-year, and down more than 50% compared to the prior quarter. Nevertheless the company managed to deliver better-than-expected earnings, with GAAP EPS of $0.13, despite a horrendous PC market. NVIDIA’s strong earnings demonstrated that by focusing on the high end of the computing market, the company is almost entirely insulated from the negative trends affecting the rest of the PC industry.
Areas of strength
The main driver of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s stronger profitability was a record-high GAAP gross margin of 54.3%, up from 50.1% in the prior year quarter. By contrast, revenue of $954.7 million was only up slightly year over year, and was down 13.7% sequentially. NVIDIA has built a leadership position in high-end graphics processors, including high-end GeForce GPUs for gamers, Quadro workstation graphics cards for professional designers, and Tesla GPUs for supercomputing tasks. For example, while top graphics competitor Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) recently introduced a new high-end gaming card, most reviewers have concluded that NVIDIA’s competing offerings provide better overall performance.
Future investments
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is not resting on its laurels, nor is it putting all of its eggs in the “mobile” basket — although the company does have a significant opportunity there. Within the Tegra business, automotive customers are becoming an increasingly important revenue source. Tegra processors power the infotainment and navigation systems and the instrument cluster of the new Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S sedan. Audi is also rolling out Tegra-powered infotainment systems on a global basis. NVIDIA’s ability to win business from these two luxury automakers is a testament to Tegra’s performance.
Within the traditional GPU business, NVIDIA has begun marketing its GeForce GRID servers. This initiative will eventually allow NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) to more efficiently deliver computing power for both enterprise and gaming customers. For example, by handling graphics loads in the cloud, GRID allows customers to perform workstation-level graphic design work on laptops. NVIDIA believes that this addressable market could be worth $3 billion. Future iterations of GeForce GRID for gaming and software-as-a-service applications will expand the addressable market even further.
