Nvidia profits double, stock splits

Nvidia, one of the two primary makers of graphics cards for gaming PCs, today reported a massive surge in quarterly profits. For the three months ended July 29, the company saw net income of $172.7 million ($0.43 per share) on revenue of $935.3 million. That's way up from the $86.8 million ($0.22 per share) on revenue of $687.5 million it took in during the same period in 2006.

"Our ongoing strategy to extend the reach of the GPU is paying off," said Nvidia CEO and president Jen-Hsun Huang, stating the obvious. "There is a fast-growing universe of applications that rely on the processing capability of the GPU, from 3D design and styling tools, video- and photo-editing software, 3D maps, and video games, to the user interfaces of the Mac and Vista."

Besides its extensive line of GeForce GPUs for PCs, the company also makes the RSX graphics chip used in the PlayStation 3. The graphics chips used in the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii are made by Nvidia's archrival, AMD-owned ATI, which also makes the Radeon line of PC GPUs.

Nvidia is marking its success by offering a 3-for-2 stock split. As of the end of business on Monday, August 20, owners of any two shares of Nvidia stock will receive a third gratis. After the split is completed in early September, Nvidia will have around 550 million shares of common stock.