Nvidia shares surge to record high, market value nears $6 trillion

Nvidia closed Friday at its highest price ever, pushing the company's total market value to around $5.7 trillion and bringing it within striking distance of an unprecedented $6 trillion valuation. The stock climbed 2.9 percent, continuing a gain of nearly 25 percent since its low point earlier in the year. Earlier in the week the firm disclosed a $150 billion increase to its share-buyback program, the largest ever for the company, and rolled out a double-layered AI security system intended to prevent AI agents from operating outside set parameters.

Nvidia reported record first-quarter revenue of $81.6 billion, an 85 percent jump driven by soaring demand for its AI chips, with data-center sales reaching $75.2 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share and forecast about $91 billion in revenue for the next quarter. Founder and CEO Jensen Huang said the rapid build-out of AI infrastructure is accelerating at an extraordinary pace.