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NVIDIA Makes a Massive Bet on Its Own Stock: Should You?

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Key Takeaways

  • NVIDIA's $150 billion buyback underscores management's confidence in its AI growth.
  • Strong earnings growth and cash generation support NVIDIA's bullish investment case.
  • NVIDIA-heavy ETFs offer diversified exposure while reducing single-stock risk.

NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) just sent an unusually strong message to investors: It believes its shares are worth buying.

The AI-chip leader announced a record $150 billion increase in its stock-repurchase authorization, taking its total buyback capacity to $235 billion through 2028. The move comes as NVIDIA continues to generate enormous amounts of cash from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The company has already been aggressively returning capital to its shareholders. NVIDIA repurchased roughly $34 billion of stock in fiscal 2025 and more than $40.4 billion in fiscal 2026. During the first half of fiscal 2027, through July 2026, it bought back another $39 billion, per Yahoo Finance.

That puts NVIDIA's buyback activity well ahead of many other mega-cap technology companies, including Apple, Alphabet and Meta.

Why the Buyback Matters for Shareholders

A large buyback can be particularly meaningful when a company is generating substantial cash. By reducing the number of shares outstanding, NVIDIA can spread its earnings across fewer shares, potentially lifting earnings per share (EPS) over time.

The timing also stands out. NVIDIA's shares have surged alongside the AI boom, but its valuation multiple has compressed as earnings have grown rapidly.

Former Wall Street analyst David Bennett highlighted this dynamic on X, noting that NVIDIA is already trading at a much lower earnings multiple than it did during the earlier stages of the AI rally. In his view, management is effectively using its strong cash generation to support both shareholder returns and continued AI investment, as mentioned on Yahoo Finance.

How Attractive Does NVIDIA Stock Look Now?

The stock currently trades at roughly 24 times forward earnings (per Yahoo Finance), only moderately above the S&P 500's approximately 20-times multiple. That valuation looks less demanding when viewed against NVIDIA's growth and its dominant position in AI chips.

NVIDIA stock trades at price/earnings multiple of 32.11 times on a trailing 12-month basis, versus Semiconductor – General industry average of 33.15X.

Of course, a lower multiple doesn't eliminate the risks. Any slowdown in AI infrastructure investment could put pressure on both earnings expectations and the stock.

Still, the latest buyback suggests that management isn't seeing such a slowdown on the horizon. The buyback is also a powerful vote of confidence from CEO Jensen Huang, who said NVIDIA's growth is being driven by a “once-in-a-generation platform shift” toward AI and accelerated computing, cited by Yahoo Finance.

Upbeat Earnings Growth

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the October quarter earnings per share stands at $2.47, up 90% year over year. Sales of $109.0 billion are expected to log 91.2% growth. Nine of 13 analysts raised earnings estimates for the upcoming quarter over the past 30 days, while none went southward. Twelve of 13 analysts upped estimates for the full year.

Strong Financial Position

NVIDIA maintains a robust balance sheet with limited reliance on debt. Its total debt-to-equity ratio stands at just 0.14%, well below the Semiconductor – General industry average of 14.10%. The company generated $74.4 billion in operating cash flow during the first half of fiscal 2027 while returning $46.1 billion to its shareholders.

Upbeat Price Target

Based on short-term price targets offered by 48 analysts, the average price target for Nvidia comes to $327.71. The forecasts range from a low of $180.00 to a high of $515.00. The average price target represents an increase of 45.6% from the closing price of $225.07 recorded on Sept. 25, 2026. NVDA has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

NVDA-Heavy ETFs in Focus

NVIDIA is a powerful combination of earnings growth, AI investment and shareholder returns.However, rising rate worries and concerns about the timeline for AI investment payoffs are hurting the tech space occasionally.

Against this backdrop, investors can play the stock with the basket or ETF approach. The ETF approach minimizes company-specific risks. With NVIDIA being a key stock in the AI trade, any negative commentary may hit the stock hard. In this scenario, the ETF approach offers a cushion to investors.

NVIDIA-heavy ETFs include the likes of Global X PureCap MSCI Information Technology ETF (GXPT - Free Report) , Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report) , Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC - Free Report) , VanEck Technology TruSector ETF (TRUT - Free Report) and iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF (TOPT - Free Report) . These funds invest in NVIDIA in the range of 14% to 20%.

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