Nvidia forecast fourth-quarter revenue slightly above estimates on Wednesday, betting on robust sales of its coveted AI chips, but still failed to meet lofty expectations of investors who have made it the world’s most valuable firm.

Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company fell 2 per cent in extended trading. They had closed down 0.8 per cent on Wednesday.

The company forecast revenue of $37.5 billion (€35.5 billion), plus or minus 2 per cent for the fourth quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $37.09 billion according to data compiled by LSEG.

Expectations ran high in advance of the results, with Nvidia shares up more than 20 per cent over the last two months. The stock has nearly quadrupled so far this year and is up more than nine-fold over the last two years.

While demand is soaring for the company's chips that make up the brains of complex generative AI systems, supply-chain snags have made it harder for Nvidia to report the big beats on revenue that have helped make it a Wall Street darling.

One of the bottlenecks for its chip supply has been the limited capacity for advanced manufacturing techniques at the company's manufacturing partner TSMC SMC.

The company recorded third-quarter adjusted earnings of 81 cents per share, compared to estimates of 75 cents per share. – Reuters

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