Nvidia shares were trading around $182 on October 21, approaching record territory despite the complete collapse of its Chinese business, where market share crashed from 95% to zero following U.S. export restrictions. The AI chipmaker’s resilience reflects surging global demand and major new partnerships, including a $100 billion investment deal with OpenAI.

Revenue Surge Despite Geopolitical Headwinds

Nvidia reported explosive year-over-year revenue growth of 56% to $46.7 billion in Q2, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of growth exceeding 50%. Data center revenue hit $41.1 billion, with CEO Jensen Huang attributing this to “extraordinary” demand for the company’s new Blackwell platform.

These strong results came despite CEO Huang’s frank admission that U.S. export restrictions “essentially destroyed” Nvidia’s presence in China. “We went from 95% market share to 0%,” Huang stated at a Citadel Securities event, criticizing policymakers for letting America lose “one of the largest markets in the world.” China previously represented 20-25% of Nvidia’s data center revenue.

Major AI Partnerships Drive Growth

Nvidia unveiled its landmark $100 billion partnership with OpenAI in September, where the chip giant will invest progressively as OpenAI deploys at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems. The deal represents millions of GPUs for OpenAI’s next-generation AI infrastructure, with the first gigawatt planned for deployment in the second half of 2026 using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform.

Advanced Micro Devices also secured a major agreement with OpenAI to supply up to 6 gigawatts of its MI450 chips, intensifying competition in the AI hardware market. However, analysts confirm Nvidia’s technological leadership: 36 out of 38 Wall Street analysts rate the stock as “Buy” with an average 12-month price target of $225, implying 24% upside potential.

HSBC recently upgraded Nvidia to “Buy” with a Street-high price target of $320, citing expanding AI chip demand and significant earnings growth potential through 2027.