NVIDIA Q2 FY27 Earnings Call: What It Means for SMH
September 02, 2026
Read Time 3 min
Key Takeaways
- NVIDIA reported Q2 FY27 revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year, beating analyst consensus of $92.2 billion. (NVIDIA, 2026)
- Data center revenue reached $89 billion, up 117% year over year, representing approximately 93% of total quarterly revenue. (NVIDIA, 2026)
- Management guided Q3 FY27 revenue to $108 billion -- characterized as supply-constrained, with actual demand exceeding available capacity. (MarketBeat, 2026)
- The company returned a record $26 billion to shareholders and excluded all China data center compute revenue from its forward outlook. (Investing.com, 2026)
What Did NVIDIA Report?
NVIDIA reported Q2 fiscal 2027 revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106% from a year ago and up 18% sequentially, driven primarily by accelerating demand for AI infrastructure across hyperscalers, enterprises, and sovereign AI customers. (NVIDIA, 2026) Data center revenue reached $89 billion for the quarter, up 18% sequentially and 117% year over year, accounting for roughly 93% of total company revenue. (NVIDIA, 2026) CEO Jensen Huang described the moment as an inflection point, noting that "compute is revenue" as AI workloads become productive and profitable at scale. (MarketBeat, 2026) Management emphasized the Vera Rubin platform ramp and an expanded AWS partnership as key near-term growth catalysts. (MarketBeat, 2026)
Why NVIDIA's Earnings Call Matters for the Market
- Signals sustained and broadening AI infrastructure spend, with hyperscale CapEx now projected to reach nearly $800 billion in 2026 and $1.3 trillion in 2027 across the top five cloud providers. (Investing.com, 2026)
- Highlights a meaningful shift beyond the largest cloud operators: NVIDIA's ACIE segment (enterprise, NeoCloud, and sovereign AI customers) now represents roughly half of total revenue and is growing approximately 100% annually. (MarketBeat, 2026)
- Provides insight into semiconductor supply dynamics: memory cost pressures and constrained chip production are shaping margin trajectories across the broader chip ecosystem. NVIDIA flagged "extreme pricing conditions" in memory as a key headwind heading into Q4. (MarketBeat, 2026)
What This Means for SMH
These results reinforce the demand trends most relevant to SMH, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. NVIDIA's data center acceleration flows directly through the semiconductor supply chain. As the company ramps Vera Rubin production and prepares to more than double CPU revenue in fiscal 2028, (MarketBeat, 2026) the demand for advanced chip components, packaging, and high-bandwidth memory touches companies across SMH's holdings. Data Center Networking revenue rose 138% year over year, (StockTitan, 2026) signaling that the infrastructure buildout extends well beyond chips alone. The fund's exposure to companies involved in AI chip design, HBM supply, and advanced manufacturing nodes may position it to benefit from the infrastructure buildout NVIDIA described on the call.
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NVIDIA's Outlook for Next Quarter
NVIDIA guided Q3 FY27 revenue to $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, representing approximately 70% year-over-year growth. (Investing.com, 2026) Management characterized this outlook as supply-constrained, with actual demand exceeding what the company can currently fulfill. Gross margins are expected to compress to the 71%-72% range in Q4 before stabilizing at 72%-73% in fiscal 2028 as pricing adjustments take effect. (MarketBeat, 2026) The company has excluded all China data center compute revenue from its forward guidance, citing geopolitical uncertainty. (Investing.com, 2026)
Who Should Be Paying Attention
Investors focused on AI infrastructure trends or monitoring semiconductor demand cycles may find these earnings particularly relevant.
How to Access the Semiconductor Theme
Investors looking for exposure to semiconductors can access it through the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and the VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (SMHX), which provides targeted exposure to leading chip designers and the broader semiconductor value chain.
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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Nvidia Corp (NVDA) comprised 22.82% of SMH’s NAV as of 8/31/2026. Holdings will vary for the SMH ETF and its corresponding Index. For a complete list of holdings in the ETF, please click here.
Nvidia Corp (NVDA) comprised 23.38% of SMHX’s NAV as of 8/31/2026. Holdings will vary for the SMHX ETF and its corresponding Index. For a complete list of holdings in the ETF, please click here.
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to action. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without notice. Actual future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are unknown. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. VanEck does not guarantee the accuracy of third party data. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees.
MVIS® US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index (MVSMHTR) is intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and equipment.
MarketVector™ US Listed Fabless Semiconductor Index (the “Fabless Index” or the “Index”) is intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and classified as a fabless.
Index returns are not Fund returns and do not reflect any management fees or brokerage expenses. Certain indices may take into account withholding taxes. Investors can not invest directly in the Index. Returns for actual Fund investors may differ from what is shown because of differences in timing, the amount invested and fees and expenses. Index returns assume that dividends have been reinvested.
Definitions of Terms. Fabless semiconductor company: a company that designs and sells semiconductor chips but outsources their manufacturing to third-party foundries. Hyperscaler: a large-scale provider of cloud computing infrastructure. Capital expenditures ("CapEx"): funds a company spends to acquire, upgrade or maintain physical assets such as data centers and equipment. High-bandwidth memory ("HBM"): a stacked memory technology used in AI and high-performance computing applications. ACIE: an NVIDIA-defined reporting grouping comprising enterprise, NeoCloud and sovereign AI customers; NeoClouds are specialized AI-focused cloud providers and sovereign AI refers to government-sponsored AI infrastructure programs.
An investment in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (SMHX) may be subject to risks which include, among others, risks related to investing in the semiconductor industry, equity securities, special risk considerations of investing in Asian, European and Taiwanese issuers, foreign securities, emerging market issuers, foreign currency, depositary receipts, medium-capitalization companies, issuer-specific changes, market, operational, index tracking, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, passive management, fund shares trading, premium/discount risk and liquidity of fund shares, non-diversified, and industry concentration risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund. Emerging market issuers and foreign securities may be subject to securities markets, political and economic, investment and repatriation restrictions, different rules and regulations, less publicly available financial information, foreign currency and exchange rates, operational and settlement, and corporate and securities laws risks. Medium-capitalization companies may be subject to elevated risks.
Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contains this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com/etfs. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
© Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation.
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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Nvidia Corp (NVDA) comprised 22.82% of SMH’s NAV as of 8/31/2026. Holdings will vary for the SMH ETF and its corresponding Index. For a complete list of holdings in the ETF, please click here.
Nvidia Corp (NVDA) comprised 23.38% of SMHX’s NAV as of 8/31/2026. Holdings will vary for the SMHX ETF and its corresponding Index. For a complete list of holdings in the ETF, please click here.
This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to action. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without notice. Actual future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are unknown. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. VanEck does not guarantee the accuracy of third party data. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees.
MVIS® US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index (MVSMHTR) is intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and equipment.
MarketVector™ US Listed Fabless Semiconductor Index (the “Fabless Index” or the “Index”) is intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and classified as a fabless.
Index returns are not Fund returns and do not reflect any management fees or brokerage expenses. Certain indices may take into account withholding taxes. Investors can not invest directly in the Index. Returns for actual Fund investors may differ from what is shown because of differences in timing, the amount invested and fees and expenses. Index returns assume that dividends have been reinvested.
Definitions of Terms. Fabless semiconductor company: a company that designs and sells semiconductor chips but outsources their manufacturing to third-party foundries. Hyperscaler: a large-scale provider of cloud computing infrastructure. Capital expenditures ("CapEx"): funds a company spends to acquire, upgrade or maintain physical assets such as data centers and equipment. High-bandwidth memory ("HBM"): a stacked memory technology used in AI and high-performance computing applications. ACIE: an NVIDIA-defined reporting grouping comprising enterprise, NeoCloud and sovereign AI customers; NeoClouds are specialized AI-focused cloud providers and sovereign AI refers to government-sponsored AI infrastructure programs.
An investment in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF (SMHX) may be subject to risks which include, among others, risks related to investing in the semiconductor industry, equity securities, special risk considerations of investing in Asian, European and Taiwanese issuers, foreign securities, emerging market issuers, foreign currency, depositary receipts, medium-capitalization companies, issuer-specific changes, market, operational, index tracking, authorized participant concentration, no guarantee of active trading market, trading issues, passive management, fund shares trading, premium/discount risk and liquidity of fund shares, non-diversified, and industry concentration risks, all of which may adversely affect the Fund. Emerging market issuers and foreign securities may be subject to securities markets, political and economic, investment and repatriation restrictions, different rules and regulations, less publicly available financial information, foreign currency and exchange rates, operational and settlement, and corporate and securities laws risks. Medium-capitalization companies may be subject to elevated risks.
Investing involves substantial risk and high volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investor should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contains this and other information, call 800.826.2333 or visit vaneck.com/etfs. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
© Van Eck Securities Corporation, Distributor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation.