Nvidia Results Miss Estimates; Shares Fall

Graphics chipmaker Nvidia posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Tuesday, as revenue plunged 60 percent on weak demand from PC makers, sending its shares down 7 percent.

Nvidia posted a net loss of $147.6 million, or 27 cents a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 25, compared with a net profit of $257 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

The company's gross profit margin was 29.4 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter, compared with 41 percent in the third quarter.

Revenue tumbled to $481.1 million from $1.2 billion, below Wall Street's view of $491.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Excluding special items, Nvidia's loss per share was 18 cents, wider than the average analyst forecast of 11 cents loss per share.

Shares of Nvidia fell over 7 percent in after hours trading.

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Nvidia warned investors in January that sales in the quarter would be significantly weaker than its initial expectations, due to weak demand for personal computers, which use its graphics processors, and inventory reductions among its customers.

"What we need to know now is what management plans on doing going forward to correct the situation," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Patrick Wang.

Among the key concerns for investors, Wang said, was the deterioration in Nvidia's profit margin.

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