Nvidia's CEO speaks at his first shareholder meeting since shares soared

Since last year's meeting, the company has made historic progress: Nvidia's stock is up 193%, its stock split 10-1, the company passed a $3 trillion valuation, and briefly reached the rank of the most valuable company in the United States.

The first question Huang answered on Wednesday was about the company's competition, as traditional chipmakers and startups alike are releasing products aimed at challenging Nvidia's more than 80% market share in AI chips.

Nvidia shares fell more than 1% in Wednesday trading.

Without naming competitors, Huang laid out the company's overall strategy for maintaining its position, advancing the idea that Nvidia has already “transformed” into a data center-focused company rather than its previous focus on gaming. The company is also looking to create new markets for its AI, such as in industrial robots, and aims to partner with every computer maker and cloud provider to do so.

Huang said its AI chips offer the “lowest total cost of ownership,” suggesting that while other chips may be less expensive, Nvidia's chips are more economical given their performance and operating cost.

Ultimately, Huang said Nvidia achieved a “virtuous circle,” a technology industry term that refers to when a platform has the highest number of users, allowing it to make the improvements it needs to attract more users.

“NVIDIA's platform is widely available through every major cloud provider and PC maker, creating a large and attractive install base for developers and customers, making our platform even more valuable to our customers,” Huang said.

Nvidia shareholders were pleased with the company's performance and approved a nonbinding vote on executive compensation called a “say on pay.” Nvidia executives are paid through a combination of salaries and different types of restricted stock units.

Huang received a compensation package worth about $34 million during the company's 2024 fiscal year, an increase of 60% since 2023, according to the company's annual filing.