Nvidia's AI Rise: Key Charts

Nvidia (NVDA) has outperformed every stock in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) since ChatGPT's launch in late November 2022. The chipmaker's shares have increased nearly 700% since ChatGPT brought AI to the masses, greatly exceeding the S&P 500's approximate 45% gain during the same period. The next highest gain in that timeframe for an S&P 500 company is a 540% rise for Vistra Corp (VST).

Nvidia has become a primary provider of chips for operating AI systems. Nvidia is now at the center of an AI arms race and has become a cornerstone of the stock market's recent bull market as its sales and profits have greatly increased in recent years. Prior to the company's next quarterly earnings release on May 28, some charts that illustrate Nvidia's rise as a closely watched stock were examined.

Reviewing the company's market capitalization against its peers shows how Nvidia surpassed its competition in the AI boom. At ChatGPT's launch, Nvidia had a market cap of just over $400 billion, which has grown to over $3.3 trillion. During that time, chip competitor Intel's (INTC) market cap has decreased, while Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) market cap has seen a smaller increase from $125 billion to $177 billion.

Nvidia's expansion has been central to a new tech boom. The rise of Nvidia, along with Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL,GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA), created the "Magnificent Seven." This group began the AI boom with a combined market cap just under $7 billion. Now, two and a half years later, the Big Tech group's market cap is over $16.8 trillion. These seven companies have increased from approximately 22% of the S&P 500's market cap in November 2022 to 32% of the index's market cap currently.

Due to its considerable weighting in the S&P 500, fluctuations in Nvidia's shares have become a factor in how many investors view the stock market's direction. In June 2024, three Wall Street strategists increased their year-end S&P 500 targets, noting strong consistent performance among important AI companies. As of May 19, the Magnificent Seven have accounted for about 52% of the S&P 500's gains since Nov. 30, 2022. Nvidia has contributed 17.21%, the most within the group, followed by Microsoft, which has added approximately 8.8%.

Nvidia's stock increase is supported by the company's strong quarterly financial results. In the quarter that ChatGPT launched, Nvidia reported $6.3 billion in revenue. Two years later, revenue was $35.3 billion, a 460% increase in two years. The primary source of growth for Nvidia has been its data center revenue segment, which includes AI chip sales. From the company's fourth quarter of 2023 to its final quarter of its 2025 reporting period, data center revenue grew almost 900%.

Nvidia's data center revenue is particularly notable when compared to its industry peers. In the final quarter of 2024, Nvidia reached a record $35.58 billion in data center revenue, up from $3.62 billion in the final quarter of 2022. In comparison, Alphabet's data center revenue increased to $11.96 billion, up from $7.32 billion in the final quarter of 2022.