Nvidia’s Record $150 Billion Buyback Boost: Why the AI Chip Leader Is Betting on Its Own Stock

Nvidia says its board has approved an additional $150 billion for share repurchases, lifting the company’s total remaining buyback authorization to $235 billion. According to the company, this is the largest single increase to a buyback authorization ever recorded, and it expects to work through the full amount by the end of its fiscal year 2028. The move signals that management believes the stock is worth more than the market is currently paying, even as questions linger about how long the artificial intelligence spending boom can last.

This article is based on Nvidia’s September 28, 2026 announcement and the market commentary that circulated alongside it, supplemented by readable reporting from CNBC and The Motley Fool. The company’s figures and forecasts are its own statements and have not been independently verified here.

What Nvidia Announced

In a statement posted to its newsroom, Nvidia said its board of directors authorized an additional $150 billion under the company’s existing share repurchase program. Combined with what was already available, the total remaining authorization now stands at $235 billion. The company said it expects to complete the entire remaining program through fiscal year 2028, which for Nvidia ends in early calendar 2028.

CEO Jensen Huang framed the decision as a byproduct of the company’s cash generation. He said Nvidia’s growth is being driven by “a once-in-a-generation platform shift to AI and accelerated computing,” and that the company has the capacity both to invest in new technologies and to return capital to shareholders. He added that the authorization “reflects our confidence in the long-term opportunity ahead.”

Authorization Versus Actual Buying

A share repurchase, or buyback, is when a company uses its own cash to purchase its shares on the open market, reducing the number of shares outstanding. When fewer shares exist, each remaining share represents a slightly larger slice of the company’s earnings, which can support the stock price over time. An authorization, however, is only a ceiling set by the board. It gives management permission to buy up to a stated dollar amount, but it does not require the company to buy any specific quantity, at any specific price, or on any specific date.

That distinction matters for reading this announcement. Nvidia has told investors it intends to use the full $235 billion by the end of fiscal 2028, but the pace and price of those purchases remain at management’s discretion. Companies routinely slow or pause buybacks when conditions change, and Nvidia’s own release includes standard forward-looking-statement language noting that expectations about the program’s execution are subject to risks and uncertainties.

The Numbers at a Glance

Source note: Figures are drawn from Nvidia’s September 28, 2026 press release, the market commentary that accompanied it, and same-day reporting by CNBC and The Motley Fool. Market-related figures reflect the time of those reports and may have changed. None of the company’s claims have been independently verified.

Why Now: The Valuation Argument

The commentary distributed with the announcement argues that Huang sees an opportunity to buy shares “on the cheap” ahead of further acceleration in AI development. It states that Nvidia’s forward price-to-earnings multiple has declined steadily since August 2024, and that the decline has accelerated this year despite a string of strong quarterly results. The forward P/E is described as roughly 24 times, compared with about 20 times for the S&P 500.

Forward P/E, Explained

The price-to-earnings ratio compares a company’s share price to its earnings per share. A “forward” P/E uses analysts’ estimates of the next year’s earnings rather than past results. A lower number generally means investors are paying less for each dollar of expected profit. For a company growing far faster than the broader market, a forward multiple only modestly above the index average can look inexpensive, which is the case being made here.

The Motley Fool independently characterized the stock as trading at roughly 24 times forward earnings, calling that “not all that demanding” given Nvidia’s growth guidance. The same analysis noted that Nvidia guided for roughly 70% annual revenue growth in fiscal year 2028 on its most recent earnings call, above what Wall Street had been modeling. Readers should keep in mind that both the multiple and the growth outlook depend on forecasts that can shift quickly.

The Cash Machine Behind the Buyback

A buyback of this size is only plausible because of the scale of spending on AI infrastructure. CNBC reported that combined hyperscaler capital expenditure is projected to exceed $1.3 trillion by 2027, citing an August estimate from S&P Global Ratings. “Hyperscalers” is industry shorthand for the largest cloud and internet companies that build massive data centers, and Nvidia’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, are the most sought-after chips for training and running AI models in those facilities.

CNBC also reported that Huang said earlier in September that Nvidia would double the number of chips it sells in 2027, and that the company’s shares had climbed about 24% over the past 12 months, lifting its market capitalization to roughly $5.42 trillion at the time of the report. In a same-day appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Huang described the current moment as “the largest infrastructure build-out in human history” and said that as Nvidia generates more cash each year, it would like to return it to shareholders.

Beyond its flagship Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin AI systems, CNBC noted that Nvidia also sells central processors, networking and switch chips, laptop chips, Jetson chips for robots and vehicles, and the processor inside Nintendo’s Switch 2 console. Those businesses are small next to the data-center segment, but they illustrate how broadly the company’s chip designs are deployed.

What It Means for Shareholders, and the Limits

The Scale of the Program

The Motley Fool calculated that the $235 billion authorization equals about 4.3% of Nvidia’s market capitalization, and that spreading it across the roughly six quarters remaining before the end of fiscal 2028 would imply repurchases of more than $39 billion per quarter. That would be a significant step up from the nearly $20 billion the outlet said Nvidia bought back in its most recent quarter. If executed, a program of that size would steadily reduce the share count, though the effect on any individual quarter’s earnings per share would be modest given the company’s size.

Shrinking the share count is not the same as lifting the share price. Buybacks can support the stock, but the price ultimately tracks how the underlying business performs. Investors should also weigh what the cash is not being used for. Money spent on repurchases is not spent on research, acquisitions, manufacturing capacity, or a larger dividend, and reasonable people disagree about which use creates the most long-term value for a company at the center of a fast-moving technology shift.

Risks Outside Analysts Are Watching

The Motley Fool’s assessment laid out several concerns. The first is the possibility of a slowdown in AI capital spending, since Nvidia’s chips are bought for data centers that are expensive to build and, in the outlet’s words, “seemingly face more opposition each day.” The second is scrutiny of what critics call circular financing, where Nvidia funds or invests in suppliers and customers who in turn buy its products. The outlet said Nvidia has also reportedly been financing companies that build data centers.

The third concern is pricing power. The Motley Fool reported that CFO Colette Kress told investors on the most recent earnings call that Nvidia expects gross margins to contract from about 75% to between 71% and 72% by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, largely because of higher memory prices. Gross margin is the share of revenue left after the direct costs of making a product, and a decline can signal rising competition or input costs even when sales are growing. Nvidia’s own release lists competition, reliance on third-party manufacturers, and changes in laws and regulations among the factors that could cause results to differ from expectations.

What Remains Unknown

Several important details are not disclosed in the announcement. Nvidia has not said how much of the $235 billion it plans to spend in any given quarter, whether purchases will be made on the open market or through other arrangements, or at what prices it considers the stock attractive. The company also has not said whether the expanded program changes its approach to its small dividend. Market-related figures cited by different outlets on the day of the announcement, such as the company’s market capitalization, varied slightly depending on timing, which is a reminder that these numbers move with the share price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is $150 billion really the largest buyback authorization increase ever?

That is Nvidia’s characterization, repeated by CNBC and The Motley Fool in their coverage of the announcement. It refers specifically to the size of a single increase to an authorization, not to the total dollars a company has ever spent repurchasing shares.

Does this mean Nvidia will definitely buy $235 billion of stock?

No. An authorization is a ceiling approved by the board, and Nvidia says it expects to execute the remaining program through fiscal 2028. Actual purchases depend on management’s judgment and market conditions, and the company’s release notes that its expectations are subject to risks and uncertainties.

Why does a low forward P/E matter for a buyback?

A lower forward P/E means the company is paying less for each dollar of expected future earnings when it buys its own shares. If earnings grow as forecast, repurchases made at a lower multiple retire more shares per dollar spent, which is why the commentary framed the current valuation as an opportunity.

How does Nvidia’s size affect index investors?

According to The Motley Fool, Nvidia accounts for nearly 7.9% of the market-weighted S&P 500. That means many investors who own a broad index fund already have meaningful exposure to the stock without buying it directly.

Conclusion

Nvidia’s $150 billion buyback increase is, on its face, a statement of confidence from a company that says it is generating more cash than it can profitably reinvest. The valuation argument has some support from outside observers, who note that a forward multiple in the mid-20s is unusual for a business guiding to roughly 70% revenue growth. If the AI infrastructure build-out continues on the trajectory Nvidia and its largest customers describe, a shrinking share count would compound the benefits for remaining holders.

Yet the announcement should be read for what it is: an authorization, not a completed transaction, issued by a company whose fortunes are tied to a spending cycle that even bullish analysts describe as hard to predict. Projected margin compression, questions about financing arrangements with customers, and the sheer difficulty of doubling a $5 trillion company all argue for tempering enthusiasm. The buyback tells investors what Nvidia’s board believes about its stock. Whether that belief is rewarded will depend on the durability of AI demand, which no press release can guarantee.