Nvidia has once again smashed its own records.

Sales in the July quarter reached US$46.7 billion (A$70 billion), driven almost entirely by demand for its AI data-centre chips.

Revenue from Nvidia’s data-centre segment rose 56% to $41.1 billion (A$61.7 billion), slightly below the $41.3 billion (A$61.9 billion) analysts had expected.

Quarterly net income was $26.4 billion (A$39.6 billion), 59% higher than a year ago.

Nonetheless, the company’s forecast for the current quarter – US$54 billion (A$81 billion) – was only slightly above Wall Street’s expectations, cooling investor enthusiasm.

Data-centre sales, which now account for nearly nine-tenths of Nvidia’s revenue, fell slightly short of analyst forecasts for the second straight quarter.

For Nvidia and the wider tech industry, Nvidia’s quarterly results highlight both impressive strength and emerging limits.

As the Wall Street Journal observed, “After several blockbuster quarters, the revenue projection was seen as underwhelming and stoked worries that growth in demand for AI chips might be hitting a plateau.”

The world’s most valuable company remains the clear winner in the global AI build-out, with hyperscale cloud providers and national governments frantically purchasing its industry-leading chips to power large language models and AI infrastructure.

That intense demand and the resulting surging revenue have been strong enough to bankroll a fresh $60bn (A$90 billion) share buyback and to keep the newest Blackwell chips on a rapid rollout.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution should keep Nvidia’s revenues healthy for some time yet

But the breakneck pace of growth now appears to be moderating.

Investors are adjusting to a future where revenue growth is steep but not vertical, and where China remains a persistent source of uncertainty.

US export restrictions will continue to dampen Nvidia’s presence in the world’s second-largest economy, even if some limited shipments are allowed.

That leaves the company more dependent on US hyperscalers and sovereign AI projects elsewhere.

AI infrastructure is still the hottest game in town, but it’s no longer an unlimited growth story. Supply remains tight, competition is circling, and geopolitics could redraw demand patterns overnight.

Nvidia will continue to set the pace for the foreseeable future.

But even it now seems to be bumping up against the natural limits of scale.