10-QPeriod: Q3 FY2011

NVIDIA CORP Quarterly Report for Q3 Ended Oct 31, 2010

Filed December 7, 2010For Securities:NVDA

Summary

NVIDIA Corporation reported its third-quarter fiscal year 2011 results, highlighting a revenue of $843.9 million, a decrease of 6.6% year-over-year, but a 13.4% increase for the first nine months to $2.66 billion. The company experienced growth in its Professional Solutions Business (PSB) and Consumer Products Business (CPB), driven by new product introductions and increasing demand in specific markets. Despite a revenue decline in the GPU segment, the overall gross margin improved due to a more favorable product mix and manufacturing efficiencies. The company also managed its operating expenses effectively, with R&D and SG&A showing controlled increases or decreases, partly due to the absence of significant one-time charges seen in the prior year. NVIDIA ended the period with a strong liquidity position, demonstrating robust cash flow from operations and a significant balance of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.

Key Highlights

  • 1Revenue for the quarter was $843.9 million, a decrease of 6.6% compared to the prior year's third quarter, while nine-month revenue increased by 13.4% to $2.66 billion.
  • 2Gross margin improved to 46.5% in the current quarter from 43.4% in the prior year, driven by favorable product mix and manufacturing efficiencies.
  • 3The Professional Solutions Business (PSB) saw substantial revenue growth of 62.1% year-over-year, fueled by Quadro and Tesla product lines.
  • 4The Consumer Products Business (CPB) revenue saw a slight decrease of 7.1% year-over-year, but mobile revenue, driven by Tegra, increased.
  • 5Research and development expenses increased slightly by 3.3% year-over-year, while Sales, General, and Administrative expenses decreased by 2.6%.
  • 6The company ended the quarter with $1.99 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, reflecting healthy liquidity.
  • 7Significant legal proceedings remain ongoing, including a patent infringement lawsuit with Rambus and product defect litigation, though settlements were reached for some consumer class action lawsuits.

Frequently Asked Questions

NVIDIA reported revenue of $843.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, which was a decrease of approximately 6.6% compared to $903.2 million in the same period of the prior year. However, for the first nine months of fiscal year 2011, revenue increased by 13.4% to $2.66 billion from $2.34 billion in the prior year's comparable period.

NVIDIA's overall gross margin improved to 46.5% for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, up from 43.4% in the prior year's third quarter. This improvement was attributed to a more favorable product mix, enhanced yields from their 40nm products, and other manufacturing cost reductions. The company also noted offsetting impacts from the sale of previously reserved inventory and new inventory reserves.

The GPU Business revenue decreased by 18.9% year-over-year in the quarter, primarily due to a drop in unit shipments. Conversely, the Professional Solutions Business (PSB) showed strong growth with a 62.1% increase, driven by Quadro and Tesla products. The Consumer Products Business (CPB) saw a slight revenue decrease of 7.1%, but mobile revenue from Tegra products showed an increase. The company is shifting its reporting to combine former MCP segment results with the GPU segment.

NVIDIA recorded an additional charge of $193.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011 related to a weak die/packaging material set in certain previous generation products. Settlements have been reached in principle for some consumer class action lawsuits, with a net charge of $12.7 million recorded in SG&A for the second quarter. The company is continuing to investigate potential defects in other products, though no other abnormal failure rates have been observed. Several other legal proceedings, including those with Rambus and Intel, remain ongoing.