Back to top

Image: Bigstock

NVIDIA Begins Vera Rubin Production: Can It Extend NVDA's AI Lead?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Key Takeaways

  • NVIDIA has begun Vera Rubin production, targeting 10 times Grace Blackwell's agent throughput at scale.
  • NVDA expects Vera Rubin to contribute about 20% of Data Center revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2027.
  • Major cloud providers are preparing deployments, but supply bottlenecks may persist through fiscal 2028.

NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA - Free Report) Vera Rubin platform could extend its lead in the artificial intelligence (AI) market by delivering greater computing performance and efficiency for increasingly complex AI workloads. Production of this next-generation platform has started, giving NVIDIA another opportunity to strengthen its position as businesses expand AI infrastructure.

The platform combines Rubin GPUs (graphics processing units), Vera CPUs (Central Processing Units), networking, storage and other components into integrated systems designed for large-scale AI factories. NVIDIA claims Vera Rubin can deliver 10 times the agent throughput of its previous Grace Blackwell platform at scale. Its production network spans more than 350 factories across 30 countries.

The growth opportunity is substantial. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, NVIDIA’s revenues increased 106% year over year to $96.2 billion, while Data Center revenues climbed 117% to $89 billion. Management expects third-quarter revenues of $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, and anticipates Vera Rubin will contribute about 20% of Data Center revenues in the quarter.

Major cloud providers, including CoreWeave, Alphabet, Microsoft, Oracle and Nebius, are preparing to deploy the platform. These partnerships could help NVIDIA capture demand for AI agents that perform multi-step tasks, increasing the need for computing power.

Vera Rubin strengthens NVIDIA’s growth outlook. However, supply constraints could limit its ability to meet demand, while rising memory costs could pressure margins. Management expects supply to remain a bottleneck through at least fiscal 2028.

NVIDIA’s Rivals Advance Their AI Chip Platforms

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) is challenging NVIDIA with its Instinct GPUs and Helios rack-scale systems. AMD’s second-quarter 2026 revenues rose 50% year over year to $11.54 billion, while Data Center sales jumped 107% to $6.72 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices also plans to supply up to 2 gigawatts of MI450 GPUs to Anthropic, with the first deployment expected in the first half of 2027. This could make AMD a stronger alternative as customers seek more AI computing capacity.

Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) is also expanding its data-center business. Its second-quarter 2026 revenues rose 25% year over year to $16.13 billion, supported by demand for its processor products.

Intel is investing in its CPU, advanced packaging and manufacturing capabilities to capture more AI infrastructure spending. However, NVIDIA’s integrated GPU systems, networking and software ecosystem remain important advantages.

Advanced Micro Devices’ upcoming MI450 platform and Intel’s processor business offer customers more choices. Still, NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin ramp could help it maintain its lead if it delivers the promised performance and scales production smoothly.

NVIDIA’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of NVIDIA have risen around 21.3% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s gain of 23.4%.

NVIDIA YTD Price Return Performance

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, NVDA trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, below the sector’s average of 20.93.

NVIDIA Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVIDIA’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 93.9% and 68%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised upward over the past 60 days.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NVIDIA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Published in