Nvidia‘s (NASDAQ: NVDA) latest earnings report was arguably the most highly anticipated of this earnings season. And the company didn’t disappoint the lofty expectations. Revenue soared 262% compared to the prior-year period, with the data center segment once again leading the way.

Sales of $26 billion in the fiscal 2025 first quarter (ended April 28) marked the fourth straight period in which the company beat its own revenue guidance by at least $2 billion. And Nvidia sees sales growing to about $28 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.

Not surprisingly, the stock has also jumped in a big way. Nvidia shares are up by more than 90% year to date and have more than tripled in the last 12 months. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late for investors to buy the stock.

Two good reasons to buy Nvidia stock

One concern investors had heading into the latest earnings report was that customers may be holding off purchasing Nvidia’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) chips with its more powerful Blackwell generative AI architecture, due to begin shipping later this year.

But there is such strong demand for Nvidia’s products that large customers waiting for Blackwell would actually be a good thing. It would allow the long line of smaller customers to jump in now with new orders. On top of that, bigger customers like Meta Platforms, Tesla, and others will still be buying when Blackwell sales start later this year.

There’s a second good reason why long-term investors should consider owning Nvidia, even after the stock’s sharp rise: Nvidia’s automotive segment revenue jumped 17% from the previous quarter and 11% from the prior-year period. But that segment is still a very small contributor compared to the data center business.

Nvidia’s Drive platform is gaining customers in robotics companies and Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers. If autonomous driving technology takes off in coming years, Nvidia could see another boom in sales similar to what it has experienced from data center buyers.

Those are good reasons to buy Nvidia now.

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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Howard Smith has positions in Nvidia and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.