NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 05:41 ET — Market closed
Nvidia shares ended Wednesday down about 0.5% at $186.50, after a Reuters report said the chip designer has approached Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to ramp up output of its H200 artificial intelligence chips as Chinese demand accelerates.
The development matters because Nvidia’s supply has been tight, and any incremental demand from China could force trade-offs in who gets chips and when — a key input for revenue expectations and data-center buildout plans.
It also lands as investors reassess how fast the “AI trade” can keep running in 2026, with export rules and geopolitics again shaping who can buy the most powerful processors.
Reuters reported that Chinese technology companies have ordered more than 2 million H200 chips for delivery in 2026, far above Nvidia’s current inventory, with the chip priced at around $27,000 and additional production expected to start in the second quarter of 2026.
Nvidia told Reuters it was managing its supply chain and said licensed sales of H200 chips to authorized customers in China would not affect its ability to supply customers in the United States, the report said.
A separate Reuters report, citing the South China Morning Post, said ByteDance plans to spend about 100 billion yuan (about $14.3 billion) on Nvidia AI chips in 2026, contingent on approvals for H200 sales in China; Reuters said it could not independently verify the report.
Nvidia’s China opportunity comes with a policy catch: Beijing has yet to greenlight shipments of the H200 despite the Trump administration recently allowing exports of the chip to China, Reuters reported.
Nvidia was one of the market’s AI bellwethers in 2025, and the year’s final session ended with thin liquidity and profit-taking across major indexes, which fell modestly on Wednesday, according to Reuters. “It’s perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity. Reuters
Export controls stayed in focus across the semiconductor supply chain, with Reuters also reporting the U.S. granted TSMC an annual license to import American chipmaking tools into its China facility in Nanjing, replacing prior exemptions that expired on Dec. 31.
Ahead of the next major company-specific catalyst, Nvidia has scheduled multiple events at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, including an appearance by founder and CEO Jensen Huang, according to Nvidia’s CES page.
The company’s next earnings report is slated for February 25, 2026, according to Nvidia’s investor relations events calendar.
Macro data that can move rate expectations — and, by extension, high-growth tech valuations — also looms in early January, including the U.S. Employment Situation report for December 2025 on Jan. 9 and December CPI on Jan. 13, the Labor Department’s schedule shows.
Before the next session on Friday, investors will watch for any signs Beijing is moving toward approving H200 imports, and whether Nvidia’s push for additional TSMC capacity points to sustained order momentum rather than one-off year-start stocking.
Technically, the stock’s inability to hold above the $190 area in the last session leaves that level in focus, with the mid-$186 range acting as the first nearby support after Wednesday’s slide.
