Nvidia 1Q Profit Dips 55%, But Beats Views

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter revenue as demand for global processing units used in personal computers and mobile devices continued to grow.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker also forecast a sales beat in the current quarter. Nvidia sees revenue between $990 million and $1.05 billion in the second quarter, which is ahead of Wall Street's view of $976.2 million.

Revenue for the three moths ended April 29 was $924.9 million, down from $962 million a year ago, but topping average estimates of $916.2 million.

The gains were helped by the launch of its new Kepler-architecture GPUs, which received positive reviews.

"Kepler GPUs are accelerating our business," Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said in a statement. "Our newly launched desktop products are winning some of the best reviews we've ever had.”

Notebook GPUs had a record quarter, led by GeForce GTX 670, 680 and 690. Nvidia said Tegra is on a growth track again with the help of mobile device demand and the upcoming Windows on ARM launch.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker reported a 55% drop in net income to $60.4 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier $135.23 million, or 23 cents. The decline comes amid a double-digit jump in expenses and softer year-over-year sales.

Excluding one-time items, though, the company earned 16 cents, ahead of average analyst estimates of 10 cents in a Thomson Reuters poll.