Shares of graphics chipmaker Nvidia surged roughly 15% after hours on Thursday after the company boosted its dividend and reported a strong sales forecast.
Nvidia said it expects Q4 revenue of $2.1 billion, well above the $1.69 billion expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
The strong results, reported after Thursday's close of market, followed a rough day for tech stocks. Investors sold off shares of Apple, Google, Facebook and just about every other tech company on Thursday on jitters about how President-elect Donald Trump's policies will affect the sector.
Nvidia, whose chips have traditionally powered the video game capabilities of desktop and laptop computers, has emerged as an important player in the budding field of self-driving cars. The company recently announced that its technology will be used by Tesla for autonomous driving features.
The company doubled its profit in the third quarter, with $542 million in net income, or $0.83 per share. Revenue of $2 billion, was up 54% year-over-year and above the $1.69 billion expected by analysts.
Nvidia also said it would increase its dividend by 22% to 14 cents per share and that it's board of directors has authorized $2 billion of additional stock buybacks over the next several years.
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