Nvidia rises on report that the US has cleared H200 chip sales in China for 10 firms, Foxconn’s profit beat adds to the optimism
Nvidia rose ~2% in premarket trading Thursday after two early morning developments added to optimism around the chip designer’s AI business: a report that the US has cleared H200 chip sales to around 10 Chinese firms, and a profit beat from its key server partner Hon Hai (also known as Foxconn).
The Taiwanese company, which is Nvidia’s major server assembler as well as Apple’s top iPhone assembler, posted first-quarter net profit of NT$49.92 billion, up 19% from a year earlier and ahead of the NT$48.88 estimate. The company also maintained its previous full-year outlook of “strong” revenue growth, driven by surging AI server demand.
Separately, Reuters reported early Thursday that the US Commerce Department has approved roughly 10 Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips. Each approved customer can reportedly buy up to 75,000 chips under the US licensing terms.
Despite US approvals, however, no deliveries have been made so far, as Beijing reportedly remains hesitant amid concerns over supply chain security, foreign tech dependencies, and support for its own domestic AI chip industry.
Complicating factors remain on the US side, too, as Chinese buyers need to certify that the chips will not be used for military purposes; Nvidia must certify sufficient US inventory; and the chips must physically pass through US territory under an arrangement negotiated by Trump, raising Chinese fears of tampering.
Before US export curbs tightened, Nvidia held ~95% of China’s advanced chip market, per Reuters. Huang has said its share of the country’s AI accelerators market has now effectively fallen to zero.
The Taiwanese company, which is Nvidia’s major server assembler as well as Apple’s top iPhone assembler, posted first-quarter net profit of NT$49.92 billion, up 19% from a year earlier and ahead of the NT$48.88 estimate. The company also maintained its previous full-year outlook of “strong” revenue growth, driven by surging AI server demand.
Separately, Reuters reported early Thursday that the US Commerce Department has approved roughly 10 Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips. Each approved customer can reportedly buy up to 75,000 chips under the US licensing terms.
Despite US approvals, however, no deliveries have been made so far, as Beijing reportedly remains hesitant amid concerns over supply chain security, foreign tech dependencies, and support for its own domestic AI chip industry.
Complicating factors remain on the US side, too, as Chinese buyers need to certify that the chips will not be used for military purposes; Nvidia must certify sufficient US inventory; and the chips must physically pass through US territory under an arrangement negotiated by Trump, raising Chinese fears of tampering.
Before US export curbs tightened, Nvidia held ~95% of China’s advanced chip market, per Reuters. Huang has said its share of the country’s AI accelerators market has now effectively fallen to zero.
