Is Nvidia Stock a Buy as the Agentic AI Era Begins?

Valuing an explosive tech enterprise is tricky -- especially when the underlying industry is transforming. For a powerhouse like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), looking at past performance barely scratches the surface. Instead of relying on backward-looking valuation multiples, we need to examine how the stock is priced relative to the direction of the underlying operations.

And it doesn't take much of a look to realize Nvidia's business is benefiting from explosive growth -- growth that could help justify the stock's high valuation.

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A massive cash machine

Nvidia's fiscal fourth-quarter results capture a revolutionary growth story. During the three months ending Jan. 25, the company's total sales surged 73% year over year, bringing the quarter's total revenue to $68.1 billion.

Massive spending from cloud providers drove those figures, with Nvidia's data center division bringing in $62.3 billion.

Zooming out, Nvidia's full-year revenue hit $215.9 billion, representing a massive 65 percent jump from the prior twelve months.

But beyond the staggering top-line momentum, the company's cash generation is arguably even more impressive

Free cash flow for the quarter clocked in at an eye-popping $34.9 billion, or $96.6 billion for the full year. These figures were up from $22.1 billion and $60.7 billion in the respective year-ago periods.

Profitability metrics look equally exceptional.

Nvidia's adjusted gross margin was impressively greater than 75 percent, showcasing the company's seemingly unyielding pricing power as deliveries of the new Blackwell architecture ramp up.

And the company's guidance remains extremely upbeat, with Nvidia projecting total sales of about $78 billion in fiscal Q1.

The "compute is revenues" narrative

What might sustain this momentum over the long haul? A fundamental shift in how cloud providers view infrastructure spending.

During the company's most recent earnings call, CEO Jensen Huang emphasized that server investments are increasingly tied directly to real-time generative services.

"In this new world of AI, compute is revenues," Huang explained. "Without compute, there's no way to generate tokens. Without tokens, there's no way to grow revenues."

By showing how companies in this AI era will need generative AI technology to power revenue-driving software and services, Huang makes a compelling case for a sustained AI boom. Put another way, the rise of agentic AI could help companies realize strong returns on their investments in graphics processing units (GPUs) and could fuel further GPU investment growth beyond this initial infrastructure land grab.

Understanding how to value Nvidia stock

This unique setup brings us back to the stock's price tag. Right now, shares command a seemingly high valuation of about 41 times earnings. However, looking ahead to analysts' consensus earnings-per-share forecast over the next 12 months, that multiple falls closer to 24.

But this doesn't automatically make the stock a buy. There's a unique risk to Nvidia stock that could lead to significant valuation multiple compression over time: cyclicality.

Historically, the chip sector has been highly susceptible to boom-and-bust cycles. While the current hardware demand wave has largely ignored traditional patterns lately, the growth rate of AI chip revenue will almost certainly slow significantly at some point as the product cycle matures.

We are also seeing rival chip designers and major cloud operators develop their own custom silicon to capture market share. These competitive pressures will likely force the market to assign a more conservative valuation to the stock.

However, a declining multiple does not necessarily mean investors will lose money over the long haul. The company's growth has been astounding. So Nvidia could quickly grow into its valuation. In addition, the company has returned $41.1 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends during the fiscal year.

Overall, I think the agentic AI era makes a strong bull case for the stock.

Of course, betting on this semiconductor giant carries substantial risk given the industry's fast-paced nature. So buyers should approach Nvidia stock with caution, keeping any position in the high-risk bet small.

Daniel Sparks and his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.