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The artificial intelligence (AI) arms race is reaching breakneck speed. Tech giants are spending hundreds of billions to build computing power that fits the next era of AI. Traditional data centers, built for web hosting and cloud computing, are now obsolete amid AI’s insatiable demands. Companies are designing facilities with power requirements rivaling small cities, pushing infrastructure investment to unprecedented levels.
Few understand this better than Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is set to unleash between $60 billion and $65 billion in capital spending in 2025. The crown jewel is a data center that is so massive that its energy consumption will rival two nuclear power plants. This is not just about scaling up – it is about redefining the very foundation of Meta’s empire across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
But none of this happens without graphics processing units (GPUs), the silicon engines that power AI’s ambitions. Meta expects to own 1.3 million of them by year’s end, and Nvidia (NVDA) is the undisputed king of the supply chain.
With AI’s hunger growing and Meta pouring billions into the infrastructure, can the spending spree propel NVDA stock to historic new highs? Let’s find out.
About Nvidia Stock
Founded in 1993, Santa Clara-based Nvidia (NVDA) evolved from a gaming GPU pioneer into an AI powerhouse with a market cap of $3 trillion. With an 80% grip on the AI chip market and 5.5 million developers leveraging its CUDA ecosystem, it fuels data centers, self-driving cars, and enterprise AI.
NVDA stock’s meteoric rise has been nothing short of legendary, rallying over 550% in the past two years, leaving behind the broader market and its peers significantly. In 2024 alone, it surged 178.8%, fueled by relentless GPU demand, hitting a peak of $153.13 on Jan. 7.
But no king rules unchallenged. China’s DeepSeek dropped a bomb - a ChatGPT rival that doesn’t need Nvidia’s pricey chips. Panic followed, and in a single session, NVDA lost nearly $600 billion in market value. With U.S. chip restrictions looming, Nvidia’s dominance is being tested. The AI throne is still Nvidia’s, but the battlefield just got a lot more crowded.
Nvidia Beats Q3 Top and Bottom-Line Estimates
The chip giant’s fiscal third-quarter 2025 earnings results, released on Nov. 20 outpaced revenue and earnings forecasts. Revenue rocketed 94% year-over-year to $35.1 billion, with the data center segment soaring 112% annually to $30.8 billion, all thanks to the insatiable demand for its H200 chip. Non-GAAP earnings followed suit, doubling to $0.81 per share, marking an astonishing sixth straight quarter of triple-digit profit growth.
CFO Colette Kress underscored AI’s relentless expansion, forecasting Nvidia AI Enterprise revenue to double in fiscal 2025.
Nvidia’s Q4 earnings results are set to be released on Wednesday, Feb. 26, after the market close, and management projects the quarter's revenue at $37.5 billion. Wall Street is even bolder, eyeing $38.13 billion with EPS surging 61.2% to $0.79.
For fiscal 2025, profit is set to jump 134.8% to $2.77 per share, with another 43.7% growth to $3.98 per share in fiscal 2026.
Meta’s AI Spending: A Windfall for Nvidia?
AI is reshaping the tech landscape, and Mark Zuckerberg is going all in. After spending around $40 billion in 2024, Meta plans to pump a staggering $60 billion to $65 billion into AI infrastructure in 2025.
Zuckerberg’s bet includes a nearly Manhattan-sized data center, part of a global expansion to support Meta’s AI ambitions. But AI models run on GPUs, and nobody makes them better than Nvidia. Meta expects to own over 1.3 million GPUs by year’s end, and Nvidia, the undisputed leader in AI chips, is Meta's primary supplier.
Zuckerberg explained, “We’ll bring online ~1GW of compute in 2025 and we'll end the year with more than 1.3 million GPUs. We’re planning to invest $60-65bn in capex this year while also growing our AI teams significantly and we have the capital to continue investing in the years ahead.”
The demand for Nvidia’s H100 and next-gen Blackwell chips is skyrocketing as companies scramble for computing power. Meta’s deep pockets and relentless AI push could keep Nvidia’s order books full for years, reinforcing its grip on the AI market. As competitors like Google (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN) ramp up their AI infrastructure, Nvidia remains the common denominator in this gold rush.
With billions flowing into AI hardware and an insatiable hunger for GPUs, Meta’s spending spree could be the catalyst that sends Nvidia’s stock to uncharted heights.
Wall Street Ramps Up Its Bullish Bet on NVDA
Recently, Tigress Financial upgraded NVDA to “Strong Buy” with a $220 price target, implying upside potential of 76.5%. Analyst Ivan Feinseth sees Nvidia as the undisputed AI king and calls NVDA the ultimate beneficiary of surging AI investments, fueling its revenue expansion.
Despite the recent selloff over China’s DeepSeek, Tigress views the dip as a buying opportunity, reaffirming Nvidia’s long-term role as the backbone of AI’s explosive growth.
Analysts are highly bullish on NVDA, with a “Strong Buy” consensus rating overall. Out of the 43 analysts in coverage, 37 recommend a “Strong Buy,” two advise a “Moderate Buy,” and four analysts maintain a “Hold” rating. The mean price target of $176.90 suggests the AI chip stock could rally as much as 41.9% from the current price levels.
