Nvidia shares climbed more than 2.5% on Friday, reaching a new intraday record as renewed optimism around artificial intelligence spending combined with the company’s massive share buyback program.
The stock rose to around $237.75, marking its first fresh record since May. Nvidia shares are now up roughly 27% so far this year.
Nvidia Announces Record Share Buyback
One of the biggest catalysts behind the rally was Nvidia’s latest share repurchase authorization.
The company’s board approved an additional $150 billion in buybacks, bringing the total remaining authorization to approximately $235 billion through fiscal 2028.
The new program is the largest share buyback authorization in corporate history.
The move also highlights Nvidia’s confidence in its ability to generate strong cash flow while continuing to invest heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley Names Nvidia a Top Semiconductor Pick
Investor confidence received another boost after Morgan Stanley reinstated Nvidia as its top semiconductor pick.
The decision followed meetings with CEO Jensen Huang and other senior Nvidia executives.
Morgan Stanley pointed to continued strength in AI demand, Nvidia’s expanding customer base and what it considers a relatively attractive valuation.
The bank believes Nvidia remains well positioned to benefit from the next phase of artificial intelligence investment.
AI Infrastructure Bottlenecks Could Favor Nvidia
Morgan Stanley also highlighted a major shift in the AI infrastructure market.
The main constraint is increasingly moving away from semiconductor production and toward data center land, electricity availability and financing.
That could work in Nvidia’s favor.
As power becomes more limited, customers are likely to focus more heavily on maximizing computing performance from each unit of electricity.
Nvidia’s high-performance GPUs and AI systems could become even more valuable in that environment.
AI Spending Remains a Major Market Driver
Investor enthusiasm around artificial intelligence remains strong.
Markets are increasingly looking beyond the initial infrastructure buildout and toward the next stage of the AI investment cycle.
That includes software platforms, AI agents, model developers and companies building applications on top of advanced computing infrastructure.
Nvidia remains one of the main beneficiaries because its chips continue to power a large portion of the global AI ecosystem.
Anthropic IPO Expectations Add to AI Momentum
The potential public listing of Anthropic is also adding to enthusiasm around the sector.
The developer behind Claude could become another major test of investor demand for artificial intelligence companies.
A high-profile AI IPO would also highlight the enormous amount of computing power and capital required to train and operate advanced AI models.
That demand could indirectly support Nvidia by encouraging further investment in data centers and GPU infrastructure.
Nvidia Stock Enters October at Record Levels
Nvidia is entering October with strong momentum and a fresh all-time high.
Its massive share buyback authorization provides an additional company-specific catalyst alongside continued optimism over AI spending.
Investors will now be watching whether demand for AI infrastructure remains strong enough to support further earnings growth and whether Nvidia can maintain its leadership position as competition across the semiconductor industry increases.
For now, the combination of strong AI demand, bullish analyst commentary and one of the largest buyback programs ever announced is helping keep Nvidia stock firmly in focus.
