Nvidia to return 50% of free cash flow via dividends and share buybacks

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), plans to deploy 50% of the company’s free cash flow toward stock buybacks or dividends in 2026.

The announcement was made during Nvidia’s GTC keynote, where Huang outlined the roadmap for $1 trillion worth of orders for the next-generation Blackwell and Rubin platforms through 2027.

Speaking at the event, Huang also revealed that Nvidia is “in the process of restarting” manufacturing tied to the new orders, marking a notable shift from just weeks ago when visibility into Chinese demand remained uncertain.

“We plan to buy back and dividend out 50% of our free cash flow this coming year, 2026… It will be a very large number,” Huang said.

This puts Nvidia in line with the broader industry. For example, Meta (NASDAQ: META) is reportedly planning between $115 billion and $135 billion in AI-related capital expenditures in 2026 as well.

Nvidia’s new capital return strategy

The capital return strategy comes amid strong financial momentum. In its latest results, Nvidia reported fiscal Q4 2026 revenue of $68.127 billion, while net income came in at $42.96 billion.

Cash deployment accelerated alongside the company’s swelling reserves, fueled by the AI boom. As a result, growth remains heavily anchored in data center demand.

Despite the increased focus on shareholder returns, Nvidia is thus expected to continue investing aggressively in its AI ecosystem as it seeks to maintain its leadership position.

Currently, Nvidia pays a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share and is expected to pay its first dividend of 2026 on April 1.

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