Investors always want to find the next big thing. That's especially true in the fast-moving technology sector. Just look at how quickly revenue and earnings have exploded for Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) over the last 18 months.
While revenue nearly tripled in that time, earnings per share for this artificial intelligence (AI) leader soared 287%. There are going to be many other winners in the AI space as well as other technology sectors. Every retail investor would like to find the next Nvidia. But sometimes investors try to get too cute. Sometimes, the next big winner is the one you already know.
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Nvidia's long AI runway
The surge in Nvdia's business came from its data center segment. Nvidia has exposure to much more than just data centers, but it makes sense to focus on it for now. It currently dominates the business. Full-year revenue from its data center business rose 142% to $115.2 billion in the recently reported fiscal year.
Nvidia AI data training center. Image source: Nvidia.
That astounding rate of growth is understandably slowing. Yet a steady cadence of new, more powerful AI platforms will help keep revenue increasing. Even against more difficult year-over-year comparisons, the company's guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 -- expected to be reported in May -- indicates 65% revenue growth.
The continued strong demand comes as production of Nvidia's Blackwell AI architecture is in full gear. In the fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter conference call held in late February, Nvidia CFO Colette Kress said Blackwell customers "are racing to scale infrastructure to train the next generation of cutting-edge models and unlock the next level of AI capabilities."
The company isn't resting, either. Its next-generation Rubin platform is expected to be launched in 2026. CEO Jensen Huang will be delivering the keynote address at Nvidia's GTC 2025 conference on March 18. The global AI conference for developers is a likely place for Huang to discuss the benefits customers expect from Blackwell and the upcoming Rubin technology.
Beyond the data center
When looking to the next decade, investors should also consider Nvidia's business segments other than the data center. Gaming continues to be a multibillion-dollar business for Nvidia. Last year, revenue increased 9% to $11.4 billion.
However, it may be the automotive and robotics segment that will be the next big catalyst. Fourth-quarter sales more than doubled to a record $570 million. That could be just the beginning. Assisted and autonomous driving systems are becoming more widespread. Nvidia announced that Toyota will build its next-generation vehicles using Nvidia's Drive platform. The embedded operating system will also be used by the growing number of fully autonomous vehicle manufacturers.
The potential for autonomous vehicles and robotics is immense. Yet those future benefits aren't being priced into Nvidia stock. Investor focus seems to be completely on whether data center sales growth can continue. That's led to an opportunity for investors.
Nvidia stock is down nearly 20%
Nvidia shares are about where they were six months ago after having declined nearly 20% in the past three months. Even with several potential future catalysts, the stock is trading near its lowest price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio in three years.
While that 38 P/E is still relatively expensive, it's measured on a trailing-12-month basis. Looking ahead, though, the P/E looks very reasonable, or even cheap. A forward P/E of about 25 makes for an attractive entry point.
Considering the remaining runway for growth in its data center business, along with potential catalysts that could meaningfully grow in the coming years, buying Nvidia stock now could be the best investment of the decade.
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Howard Smith has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
