SANTA CLARA, California — Nvidia reported second-quarter earnings this week as analysts closely watched data centre revenue and guidance on Chinese export sales following Washington's shifting licensing rules.

Nvidia has become the world's most valuable public company on surging orders for its graphics processing units, which power generative AI systems at Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta. Analysts at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America forecast continued strong data centre growth, driven by the ramp of the company's Blackwell architecture.

A central question concerns Nvidia's H20 chips, designed specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US export controls. The Trump administration earlier agreed to permit some sales in exchange for a share of revenue, and investors sought clarity on how much China contributed to the quarter and how the company treated related inventory.

The results carry outsized weight for global markets, given Nvidia's heavy influence on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Any softness in guidance or margins could ripple across semiconductor peers including AMD, Broadcom and memory suppliers such as SK Hynix and Micron, which have benefited from AI server demand.

Chief Executive Jensen Huang was expected to address supply constraints, Blackwell production and sovereign AI deals during a call with analysts. Nvidia has repeatedly said demand for its next-generation systems outstrips supply well into the coming year.