Nvidia shares rise as 2Q beats market expectations

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Shares of Nvidia Corp. jumped in after-hours trading Thursday after the maker of graphics chips and processors for PCs, tablets and other devices reported second quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations. It also issued a strong third-quarter revenue forecast.

Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said that it was helped by sales of products for tablets and it made strong gains in its graphics processing business, despite a weak market.

"We're optimistic, as our investments position us right at the center of the fastest growing segments of computing," President and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said in a statement.

Nvidia made $119 million, or 19 cents per share, for the quarter that ended July 20 compared with $151.6 million, or 25 cents per share, a year ago. It earned 27 cents per share after adjusting for a number of special items.

Revenue rose to $1.04 billion from $1.01 billion. Operating expenses increased by 15 percent, to $401.1 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share on revenue of $1 billion.

Nvidia expects revenue of $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion in its third quarter. Analysts forecast $1.09 billion.

The company's shares rose 65 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $15.36 in after-hours trading. They closed at $14.71, up 48 cents, in the regular session.