Nvidia Unveils Record $150 Billion Stock Buyback, Lifting Total to $235 Billion as AI Spending Boom Rolls On

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Nvidia said Monday that its board has approved an additional $150 billion for its stock buyback program, the largest increase to a share repurchase authorization in history, as the chipmaker at the center of the artificial intelligence boom moves to return more of its surging cash flow to shareholders.

The increase raises the total remaining amount authorized under Nvidia's existing repurchase program to $235 billion. The company said it expects to carry out the full remaining program through fiscal year 2028.

"NVIDIA's growth is being driven by a once-in-a-generation platform shift to AI and accelerated computing," founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in a statement. "Our cash generation gives us the capacity to invest in the technologies that advance this transformation and return capital to shareholders. This authorization reflects our confidence in the long-term opportunity ahead."

Topping Apple's record

The $150 billion increase surpasses the $110 billion buyback authorization Apple approved in 2024, which had stood as the largest single expansion of a repurchase program by a U.S. company.

A buyback authorization sets a ceiling on how much stock a company may repurchase, not a commitment to buy a fixed amount on a set schedule. Nvidia has said in past filings that repurchases may be made on the open market, through private transactions or under structured agreements, and that the program can be suspended at any time at the company's discretion.

Buybacks reduce the number of shares outstanding. That increases the ownership stake of remaining shareholders and, all else being equal, lifts earnings per share.

Shares rise as broader market slips

Nvidia shares climbed in early trading Monday, gaining nearly 3% at one point and touching an intraday high of $233.21. The stock ended the day at $228.86, giving back part of its early advance.

The gain stood out on a weak day for the broader market. By late Monday morning, the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 1%, the S&P 500 had slipped 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7%, as stalled U.S.-Iran talks pushed oil prices and Treasury yields higher. Nvidia was the biggest mover in both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 during the morning session.

Nvidia's stock is up more than 20% this year. The rally has lifted the company's market value to about $5.42 trillion, making it the world's most valuable company.

Even so, the shares have not kept pace with the company's earnings growth. Nvidia is trading near its lowest earnings multiple since 2015, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters, a gap that analysts say helps explain the timing of the buyback.

CNBC's Jim Cramer, who had urged Nvidia to adopt an aggressive repurchase strategy similar to Apple's, welcomed the move. "This is a very significant buyback," Cramer said Monday on CNBC.

A steady climb in repurchases

Nvidia had already been stepping up its buybacks before Monday's announcement.

The company repurchased 310 million shares for $34 billion in fiscal 2025, according to its annual report. Buybacks rose to more than $40 billion in fiscal 2026. In the first half of fiscal 2027, which ran through July 2026, Nvidia bought back about $39 billion of its stock.

The company is currently in the third quarter of its fiscal 2027.

Nvidia also pays a quarterly dividend, though its dividend payments are small compared with its buyback spending.

Riding record AI spending

The buyback expansion comes as spending on AI infrastructure reaches unprecedented levels. Combined capital expenditure by hyperscalers, the large cloud computing companies that build and run massive data centers, is projected to exceed $1.3 trillion by 2027, S&P Global Ratings said in August.

Nvidia makes the graphics processing units that power most advanced AI systems, including its Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin platforms, and it produces a range of other semiconductors. The company has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the race among technology giants to build out AI capacity.

In August, Nvidia projected sales growth of 70% for its next fiscal year. Earlier this month, Huang said the company would double the number of chips it sells in 2027.

Huang has also worked to ease concerns that the AI boom has become a bubble, as some investors question how long technology companies can sustain their current pace of spending on data centers and chips.

Risks remain

Analysts noted that the ultimate effect of the buyback will depend on how quickly Nvidia carries it out, how much free cash flow it generates and how much new stock it issues to employees as compensation, which can offset some of the reduction in share count.

The company also faces risks that could weigh on its outlook, including a potential slowdown in AI capital spending, U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips to China and a heavy reliance on a relatively small number of very large customers.

Nvidia's close financial ties to some AI developers and cloud providers have also drawn scrutiny from investors who say those relationships can make it harder to read true end-market demand.

New safety platform

Alongside the buyback, Nvidia on Monday announced an open software platform designed to improve the security of third-party systems that deploy AI agents, programs that can take actions on their own on behalf of users.

The launch comes as concerns about AI safety move to the center of public debate. Pope Leo XIV, speaking to reporters Monday aboard the papal plane, said he had read about Nvidia's plans to add guardrails to certain AI models but questioned Huang's broader position on oversight.

"He's the same one, however, that says there should be no limits placed and no government regulation," the pope said.

Huang told CBS News this month that he agreed with President Donald Trump that safety concerns about AI have been overblown.

Nvidia is expected to report results for its fiscal third quarter in November, when investors will look for updates on demand for its Vera Rubin chips, the pace of hyperscaler spending and how aggressively the company is using its enlarged buyback authorization.

For now, the record authorization sends a clear message about how Nvidia's management views its own stock and the company's ability to fund both heavy investment in AI and large returns to shareholders at the same time.