Nvidia Stock Heads for Record High. Why Microsoft, Meta Earnings Matter for AI Chips.

Nvidia chips are the favored choice for training artificial-intelligence models. (Courtesy NVIDIA)

Nvidia stock was heading for new highs early Thursday. Earnings from Microsoft and Meta Platforms reinforced expectations of continued investment in its artificial-intelligence chips.

Nvidia shares were up 1.9% at $182.73 in premarket trading, putting it on track to close above $180 for the first time. The stock rose 2.1% on Wednesday.

Microsoft and Meta both underlined their commitment to spending on AI hardware in positive earnings reports late Wednesday, with plenty of that money expected to be used to purchase Nvidia processors.

Microsoft reported fourth-quarter capital expenditures of $24 billion, above estimates of $21.4 billion. Meta raised the floor of its 2025 capex forecast to a range of $66 billion-$72 billion, from $64 billion-$72 billion previously.

Nvidia might also receive a boost from Stargate Norway, a project announced Thursday by a partnership of ChatGPT-developer OpenAI, AI infrastructure company Nscale and Norwegian industrial company Aker. The facility in Narvik will house 100,000 of Nvidia’s graphics-processing units by the end of 2026 and use renewable power for AI workloads in Europe, the companies said in a joint statement.

Among other chip makers, Advanced Micro Devices was rising 2.4% and Broadcom was gaining 1.0% in premarket trading.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com