NVDA in one paragraph
NVDA is NVIDIA's NASDAQ ticker. The business prints around $130 billion in annual revenue, with roughly 87% from data-centre GPUs, networking, and software, and the remaining 13% from gaming, professional visualisation, and automotive. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google together buy about 40% of data-centre revenue, which is why NVDA reprices intraday when any one of them adjusts capex guidance. Daily ranges of 2 to 4% are routine and earnings sessions have produced 8 to 15% gaps. At LHFX you trade NVDA as a CFD on MetaTrader 5 with leverage capped at 1:20, a flat $3 per side commission, STP/ECN routing, and settlement in USD.
What NVIDIA actually sells
Strip the AI marketing away and NVIDIA does one job exceptionally well: it builds the racks of compute that turn electricity into useful AI output. Every popular large language model, recommendation engine, and generative-video system released in the last three years was trained on NVIDIA silicon and is, today, almost certainly served from NVIDIA silicon. That is the business in one sentence, and it explains why a single product cycle inside the company can reprice 2% of the entire S&P 500 in a session.
The product itself is not a single chip but a vertically integrated stack. At the bottom sit individual GPUs in the H100, H200, and Blackwell generations, each capable of trillions of operations per second. Those GPUs get wired together with NVIDIA's NVLink interconnect and InfiniBand networking into pods of 8, 72, or hundreds of accelerators. Pods get racked into clusters of tens of thousands. The whole stack is programmed using CUDA, a software toolkit NVIDIA has compounded into for more than fifteen years. The moat is the entire system acting as one product, not any single component.
Outside the data centre, NVIDIA still sells gaming GPUs (the GeForce line that runs most PC games), professional visualisation cards for film and engineering studios, and automotive computing platforms for advanced driver assistance and robotaxi development. These businesses are real, but they have shrunk to roughly 13% of revenue. Anyone modelling NVDA is effectively modelling data-centre demand, with the other lines treated as a small cyclical kicker.
The concentration math you cannot ignore. Inside Compute and Networking, the customer list is short. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google together buy roughly 40% of data-centre revenue. Add Oracle, the sovereign AI build-outs in the Middle East and Asia, and the GPU-rental neoclouds such as CoreWeave, Lambda, and Crusoe, and you cover most of the rest. A trader long NVDA is, in effect, taking a leveraged view on whether those buyers keep writing cheques at the current cadence.
Two segments, one segment that matters
NVIDIA reports under two segments, but the revenue gap between them tells you where the share price is anchored. The directional ranking has been stable for several quarters: data-centre dwarfs everything else and is the line every analyst opens the model on.
| Segment | What ships in this line | Revenue share | Why it moves the stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute and Networking | Data-centre GPUs, NVLink and InfiniBand networking, CUDA-related software, automotive SoCs | ~87% | Hyperscaler buying cycles and AI training demand dictate the print. Every basis point of growth or contraction reprices NVDA inside the same session. |
| Graphics | GeForce gaming GPUs, professional visualisation cards, OEM and licensing | ~13% | Gaming refresh cycles and PC seasonality. Important for free cash flow but rarely the headline on results day. |
| Automotive and pro-viz mix | Drive platforms for ADAS and robotaxi, RTX professional cards for film and engineering | Inside the two segments above | Multi-year design wins matter for narrative, but quarterly revenue is too small to move consensus on its own. |
| Top-4 hyperscaler exposure | Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Google data-centre orders | ~40% of data-centre revenue | Any one of these names lifting or trimming capex on its own call repositions NVDA before NVIDIA itself has commented. |
| Geographic revenue mix | United States, Taiwan, China, and rest-of-world destinations of record | US is the largest end-market by booking | US export controls on advanced GPU sales to China have already removed an estimated $5 to $7 billion of annual revenue, and any policy shift moves the stock 4 to 6% in a session. |
Trading NVDA means taking a view on a single end-market (AI training and inference), routed through a small customer base, with a side bet on policy. The reason the Compute and Networking growth rate is the question every analyst asks first on the call is that the rest of the stack cannot offset a deceleration in this line within a year.
Four prints a year, all after the bell
NVIDIA reports four times a year, after the close, with prints landing in late February (Q4 and full year), late May (Q1), late August (Q2), and mid-to-late November (Q3). Every release lands after the regular NASDAQ session closes, which means the initial price reaction happens in the post-close window and the first chance to trade it on an LHFX CFD is the next morning open. By then the after-hours move is usually already priced in, which is why setting the position before the print is the cleaner approach.
The buy-side reads the print in a fixed order. First, data-centre revenue against consensus, which is the single line the market revalues the entire multiple on. Second, the dollar guide for the next quarter, where any number below whisper expectations costs the stock 8 to 15% before the next morning open. Third, gross margin trajectory, because Blackwell mix and packaging cost both move it. Fourth, any commentary on the China revenue line, since export controls remain a moving regulatory target. Fifth, qualitative language on Rubin readiness and CoWoS packaging supply.
Realised moves have been larger than the consensus framework predicts. Across recent cycles, Q4 has printed in a range of minus 10% to plus 14%, Q1 in a range of minus 8% to plus 12%, Q2 in a range of minus 7% to plus 9%, and Q3 in a range of minus 6% to plus 10%. Options markets routinely price an implied move of 8 to 12% into NVDA earnings, and realised moves have overshot the implied roughly as often as they have undershot it. Carrying a position through a print means accepting that the worst-case implied move could land in your face.
Worked example, sizing into a print
Account balance $5,000. NVDA trading at $155. Target a 2% portfolio loss budget if the stock gaps 12% against your direction on the print. Working backwards: the loss budget is $100 of risk. A 12% adverse move on NVDA at $155 is $18.60 per share. That allows 5.37 shares of exposure, round down to 5 shares or 0.05 standard lots. The position notional is $775, the margin at 1:20 cap is about $39, and the realised loss on a 12% adverse gap is roughly $93 plus $6 round-trip commission. Size against the dollar amount of the gap you can absorb, never against the leverage cap.
What moves NVDA day to day
Five inputs explain most of the daily price action. Two of them only print four times a year, which is why the earnings calendar is non-negotiable. The other three move on news from companies other than NVIDIA.
Data-centre revenue and forward guide
The single number the buy-side dissects first on every call. Data-centre revenue against consensus reprices the multiple, and the dollar guide for the next quarter sets the trajectory the market trades against for the following 90 days. A guide below whisper numbers has cost the stock 8 to 15% in the post-close window. A guide that beats has driven double-digit rallies on the next-morning open.
Hyperscaler capex updates from the top four buyers
Aggregate hyperscaler capital expenditure is on a $300 billion plus annual run rate, and the lion's share lands on NVIDIA's balance sheet within two quarters. When Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, or Google lifts or trims its capex guide on its own earnings call, NVDA repositions intraday on the same news, often before NVIDIA itself has commented. Watch the wording on AI capacity and committed contracts in those releases.
Blackwell ramp execution and Rubin readiness
Each GPU generation needs to ship in volume on the timeline NVIDIA telegraphed at its launch event. Blackwell GB200 is the current ramp; Rubin is queued for 2026. Yield reports, packaging capacity at TSMC's CoWoS lines, and any rumoured delay are all single-session catalysts. The market punishes slipped ramps faster than it rewards on-time ones, because slipped revenue is hard to recapture inside the same fiscal year.
AI demand durability narrative
The market regularly oscillates between an AI-spend-compounds story and a digestion-and-overbuild concern. Enterprise return-on-investment surveys, comments about training cluster utilisation, and any large cancellation rumour rotate the narrative. NVDA is the cleanest expression of whichever side is winning the argument that week, which is why the stock can move 3 to 5% on a research note from a single brokerage.
US export controls on advanced GPU sales to China
Restrictions on top-tier chip exports to China have already removed an estimated $5 to $7 billion of annual revenue. A new tightening or a partial loosening of the regime can move the stock 4 to 6% in a single session. The volatility cuts both ways depending on which direction policy moves, and headline risk tends to cluster around US Commerce Department announcements and earnings-call guidance language about compliant SKUs.
TSMC CoWoS packaging supply
Every NVIDIA data-centre GPU is fabricated and packaged in Taiwan. CoWoS advanced packaging capacity has been the binding constraint on shipments for several quarters. Any TSMC capex update, packaging-yield report, or Taiwan Strait headline ripples into NVDA the same day, even when nothing has changed at NVIDIA itself. The supply line is a standing input to sizing, not a tail event.
When NVDA actually trades
NVDA prints on NASDAQ and follows the standard US cash-equity timetable. Pre-market, regular session, and post-market each carry distinct liquidity and price-discovery characteristics, but only one of the three is available as an LHFX CFD. That asymmetry matters because every quarterly earnings reaction lands in the post-market window.
Pre-market on cash equity
04:00 to 09:30 New York time. The window where Asian supply-chain notes, European broker upgrades, and NVIDIA-specific product rumours print and reprice the stock. Spreads are wide and depth is thin. Not available as an LHFX CFD.
Regular session
09:30 to 16:00 New York time, Monday through Friday. The full-liquidity window with tight spreads, deep order books, and the cleanest order routing. The most active two-way flow lands in the opening 90 minutes and the closing hour. Typical intraday range on NVDA runs 2 to 4% on a normal day, widening to 8 to 15% on earnings-reaction days.
After-hours on cash equity
16:00 to 20:00 New York time. Where all four quarterly earnings reports land. The initial twenty minutes after the press release are the cleanest read on the print, with aggressive repricing on thin liquidity. Not available as an LHFX CFD, so the after-hours move shows up at the next morning open.
NVDA CFD hours at LHFX
Regular NASDAQ session only: 09:30 to 16:00 New York time, Monday through Friday. In UTC that is 14:30 to 21:00 during US winter and 13:30 to 20:00 during US summer. Earnings prints fall outside the LHFX window, so the CFD reopens the next morning at whatever the cash-equity after-hours market has already priced in.
Carrying an NVDA CFD position over an earnings print or a major customer keynote means accepting the full overnight gap with no opportunity to flatten in real time. Stop losses cannot fill across a closed market. Either size to the gap, or close the position before the bell.
NVDA CFD vs registered share vs single-name options
You can take a directional view on NVIDIA three principal ways: an NVDA CFD at LHFX, direct cash-equity ownership of NVDA through a brokerage, or single-name options at a US options broker. Each route exposes you to a different mix of leverage, defined-risk shape, income treatment, and friction. LHFX offers the CFD only; the other columns are for context.
| Product | What you own | Income treatment | Leverage available | Cost structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA CFD at LHFX | A contract on the price move, no underlying share, settled in USD | Cash adjustment on the ex-date (long credit, short debit) to mirror the dividend | Up to 1:20 | Raw spread plus $3 per side commission, overnight swap on held positions |
| Registered NVDA share | Direct ownership on the shareholder register with voting rights | Modest quarterly cash dividend, currently at a yield well below 1% | Reg T margin in a margin account, none in a cash account | Broker commission and bid-ask, no swap, custody and transfer fees may apply |
| NVDA call or put option | A contract giving the right, not the obligation, to transact at a strike | No dividend pass-through on long options; time decay reduces value daily | Embedded leverage via premium; loss capped at premium for long single options | Premium plus per-contract commission, no swap |
Pick the CFD for short-dated directional trades around earnings, customer keynotes, or policy windows where leverage and the ability to short matter. Pick the registered share for multi-year ownership and the small but compounding dividend. Pick a long option when you want defined risk capped at the premium and are willing to pay time decay for that protection.
Trading NVDA at LHFX
LHFX offers NVDA as a Contract for Difference inside MetaTrader 5 with STP/ECN routing and no dealing-desk intervention. Specifications are visible inside MT5 by right-clicking NVDA in Market Watch and opening Specification. Account base currency is converted at the prevailing rate; NVDA itself settles in USD.
Up to 1:20 on NVDA CFDs. The cap is set deliberately tight for single-name US equities because earnings gaps can swallow several percent of margin in a single morning open. Most experienced traders run effective leverage well below the cap, often 1:5 or lower for earnings-window positions.
$3 per side, $6 round-trip per standard lot. Quoted as a flat fee on top of the raw spread rather than embedded inside it, so the published bid and ask reflect the underlying market quote.
MetaTrader 5 on Windows, Mac, web, iOS, and Android. LHFX is a direct MetaQuotes licensee, so NVDA appears in the same Market Watch as forex pairs, indices, commodities, and crypto CFDs without any separate platform installation.
STP/ECN routing. Orders are passed straight through to aggregated US equity liquidity rather than internalised against a dealing desk. There is no broker position taken against your fill.
Regular NASDAQ session only: 09:30 to 16:00 New York time, Monday through Friday. Pre-market and after-hours moves on the cash-equity book are reflected when the CFD reopens at the next regular-session start.
Variable raw spread, tightest mid-session. Spreads widen on the open, the close, and around scheduled releases such as earnings or US macro prints that move the broader index.
All NVDA CFD P&L is settled in US dollars on the trading account. If your base currency is EUR, GBP, or another supported wallet, the result is converted at the prevailing rate at close-out.
A worked sizing example
Account balance $5,000. NVDA at $155. A 0.2 lot CFD position controls 20 shares of notional exposure, total notional $3,100. Margin posted at the 1:20 cap is roughly $155, or 3.1% of the account. A 12% adverse earnings gap from $155 to $136.40 costs $372, which is 7.4% of the account before commission. To keep the same trade inside a 2% portfolio loss budget on a 12% gap, size to roughly 0.05 lots (5 shares of notional exposure), where the gap costs about $93 plus $6 round-trip commission. Round-trip commission on a ticket of any size at standard-lot scaling remains $6.
For live spread snapshots, contract size, swap, and dividend treatment, see the NVDA instrument page. For the full commission breakdown across instrument groups, see spreads and fees, and for the leverage policy by asset class see leverage.
Risks of trading NVDA
On top of normal equity-CFD risk, NVDA carries three structural exposures that have produced several of its largest single-session moves in the last few years. Treat them as standing inputs to position sizing rather than as tail events to ignore.
Customer-concentration shock
NVIDIA's data-centre revenue runs through a tiny customer base. If one of the four largest buyers signals a pull-back in capex, or accelerates a switch to its own in-house silicon (Google TPU, AWS Trainium, Meta MTIA, Microsoft Maia), the next-twelve-month revenue picture changes the same day. Historical drawdowns on this kind of news have reached 10 to 20% before the dust settles.
Policy and geopolitics
Export controls on advanced GPU sales to China remain a moving target. Tighter rules subtract revenue; partial easing adds it back. Either way, NVDA reprices in the same session. Beyond that, the fact that essentially every NVIDIA GPU is fabricated and packaged in Taiwan means any Taiwan Strait headline ripples into the share price even when nothing has changed at the company.
Earnings-window overnight gap risk
All four quarterly prints land after the regular-session close on NASDAQ. LHFX CFDs do not trade after-hours. A position held over the print is exposed to the full overnight reaction with no opportunity to flatten until the next morning open. Stops cannot fill across a closed market. Recent prints have produced 8 to 15% single-morning gaps when data-centre revenue or forward guidance surprised.
Leverage compounds both directions on a high-vol stock
At the 1:20 cap, a 5% adverse move on a fully sized NVDA position wipes the deposited margin on that trade. The earnings-window catalyst alone can produce moves three times that threshold. Size from the dollar value of the gap you can absorb, not from the available margin cap. Effective leverage of 1:3 to 1:5 is the working norm on single-name US equities for experienced participants.
Risk disclosure: CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly because of leverage. The majority of retail accounts lose money trading CFDs. Make sure you understand how CFDs work and that you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Never trade with capital you cannot afford to lose.