TLDR
- NVIDIA shares up 1.9% in premarket trading at $182.73, heading for first close above $180
- Microsoft reported $24 billion in Q4 capital expenditures, above $21.4 billion estimates
- Meta raised 2025 capex forecast floor to $66-72 billion range from previous $64-72 billion
- Morgan Stanley raised NVIDIA price target to $200 from $170, citing AI demand strength
- Stargate Norway project will house 100,000 NVIDIA GPUs by end of 2026
NVIDIA stock climbed toward record highs Thursday morning as fresh earnings from tech giants reinforced the company’s position in the AI chip market. Shares gained 1.9% to $182.73 in premarket trading, setting up for the first close above $180.
The chip maker received validation from two major customers Wednesday evening. Microsoft and Meta both reported earnings that showed continued heavy spending on AI infrastructure, with much of that investment flowing to NVIDIA processors.
Microsoft posted fourth-quarter capital expenditures of $24 billion. This figure beat analyst estimates of $21.4 billion and signals ongoing commitment to AI development.
Meta also increased its spending outlook for 2025. The social media giant raised the floor of its capital expenditure forecast to a range of $66 billion to $72 billion from the previous $64 billion to $72 billion.
Wall Street Raises Expectations
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore boosted his price target on NVIDIA to $200 from $170 Wednesday. He cited exceptional strength in both AI supply and demand as reasons for the upgrade.
“All of our data points and contacts are telling us that customers need more compute,” Moore wrote in a client note. “We are seeing a clear acceleration in inference workloads driving that.”
The analyst expressed confidence in AI spending durability through 2026. He noted that at least three of the four top cloud customers have requested upside to their chip orders.
Moore also raised price targets on other AI chip stocks. Astera Labs received an increase to $125 from $99, while Broadcom’s target rose to $338 from $270.
International Expansion Continues
NVIDIA gained another boost Thursday from the Stargate Norway announcement. The project represents a partnership between OpenAI, AI infrastructure company Nscale, and Norwegian industrial company Aker.
The facility in Narvik will house 100,000 NVIDIA graphics processing units by the end of 2026. The companies plan to use renewable power for AI workloads across Europe.
This project adds to NVIDIA’s growing international presence. The company continues to secure large-scale deployments across different regions and customer types.
Other chip makers also benefited from the positive sentiment Thursday. Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.4% in premarket trading while Broadcom gained 1.0%.
The broader AI chip sector has seen increased investor interest. Moore noted that neoclouds and consumer internet companies are showing strength beyond the traditional cloud providers.
NVIDIA’s Blackwell chip sales are expected to ramp up in the second half of 2025. Supporting chips for connectivity, networking, and memory will also see increased demand during this period.
The company’s stock has gained momentum throughout 2025. Wednesday’s 2.1% rise to $179.27 set the stage for Thursday’s premarket gains.
Moore dismissed concerns about higher valuations in the AI chip space. He argued that the long-term business strength justifies current price levels.
The analyst maintains an overweight rating on NVIDIA stock. He also rates Astera Labs and Broadcom as overweight, while keeping equal weight ratings on AMD and Marvell Technology.
NVIDIA appears on five IBD stock lists including IBD 50, Leaderboard, Big Cap 20, Sector Leaders, and Tech Leaders. This broad recognition reflects the stock’s strong technical performance.
The Stargate Norway project will utilize renewable energy sources for its AI operations, addressing environmental concerns around data center power consumption.
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