Anthony Di Pizio, The Motley Fool

Tue, Jun 17, 2025, 2:37 AM6 min read

• Nvidia supplies the most sought-after data center chips in the world for artificial intelligence (AI) development.

• The majority of Nvidia's revenue now comes from its data center business, but its future success rests on just a handful of key customers.

• Nvidia's highly concentrated revenue base could pose a risk for investors in the future, but AI data center spending still has room to grow.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

Most artificial intelligence (AI) models are trained and then deployed in data centers, which are filled with thousands of specialized chips called graphics processing units (GPUs). Most AI developers don't have the financial resources to build that infrastructure themselves, but they can rent it from a handful of technology giants that operate hundreds of centralized data centers all over the world.

Those tech giants typically buy most of their GPUs from Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), which supplies the best AI hardware in the industry. The chipmaker continues to experience more demand than it can fill, which is driving a surge in its revenue and earnings. In fact, Nvidia has added a staggering $3 trillion to its market capitalization since the beginning of 2023, and it's now the second most valuable company in the world.

However, the fact that only a handful of companies can afford to build the best AI infrastructure isn't a good thing for Nvidia. During the fiscal 2026 first quarter (ended April 27), more than half of the company's total revenue came from just four unnamed customers, which means a pullback in AI infrastructure spending from any one of them could threaten the chip giant's incredible run of growth.

Let's take a look at who those top customers might be, so we can assess the sustainability of Nvidia's data center business.

Nvidia generated $44.1 billion in total revenue during the fiscal 2026 first quarter. The data center segment was responsible for $39.1 billion of that figure, so AI GPUs are now the company's most important product by far.

While Nvidia doesn't disclose who its customers are, it does report some data on the concentration of its revenue base. During the first quarter, just four mystery customers alone accounted for 54% of the company's $44.1 billion in sales:

Data source: Nvidia.

That means Customer A spent around $7 billion with Nvidia during the first quarter, and there are only a handful of companies in the world with enough financial resources to keep that up. As I mentioned earlier, this creates a risk for Nvidia because if Customer A were to reduce its capital expenditures, it would be very hard for the chipmaker to replace that revenue.