• Citigroup (C) analysts forecast Nvidia (NVDA)'s revenue to exceed consensus estimates in early 2027, driven by AI demand visibility.
  • The stock is seen as attractive ahead of a projected 34% sales acceleration in second-half 2026, fueled by new platform ramps.
  • Investors are closely watching Nvidia's mid-March GTC conference for updates on its inference roadmap and early 2026-27 guidance.

Citigroup has issued a Buy recommendation for Nvidia, anticipating the semiconductor giant will outperform in the second half of 2026 as artificial intelligence demand gains clearer visibility into 2027. Analyst Atif Malik projects January-quarter revenue of $67 billion, surpassing the $65.6 billion consensus, with April-quarter guidance expected at $73 billion, above the $71.6 billion analysts had penciled in.

According to people familiar with the matter, the ramp in Nvidia's B300 and Rubin platforms is poised to drive a significant 34% acceleration in sales during the latter part of 2026. This outlook comes amid a broader AI infrastructure boom, with hyperscalers like Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN) accounting for roughly 40% of Nvidia's revenue through massive capital expenditures on GPU clusters.

"We believe Nvidia will remain the leader in both AI training and inference," Malik noted in the report, reiterating a $270 price target. The bank projects fiscal 2027 gross margins near 75%, though operating expenses are expected to rise in the high-30% range. Efforts to sustain growth have centered on expanding beyond hyperscalers to include enterprises and sovereign AI initiatives, with non-hyperscaler demand from players like OpenAI and Anthropic set to ramp later in 2026.

Recent analyst updates from Goldman Sachs (GS) and Broadcom (AVGO) reinforce this bullish stance, with models suggesting Rubin GPU shipments will begin in the third quarter of 2026 and see a strong ramp in the fourth quarter. Nvidia's data center revenue, which surpassed $50 billion quarterly in Q3 FY26 with 25% quarter-over-quarter growth, is on track to reach $186 billion for fiscal 2026, part of what some see as a $500 billion total addressable market opportunity.

Without a clear roadmap at the upcoming GTC conference, some investors worry the stock could face volatility, but Citi's call emphasizes the attractive entry point ahead of expected strength. The company's leadership, under CEO Jensen Huang, has highlighted "off the charts" sales for the Blackwell platform and exponential AI demand growth across training and inference segments.

Geopolitical challenges, such as ongoing US-China tensions over chips, persist, yet Nvidia has maintained its AI dominance despite these headwinds. In the background, industry shifts include inference monetization acceleration, with projections like OpenAI reaching $125 billion in revenue by 2029—a 25% increase—driven by AI agents and APIs.

As of early February 2026, market focus is sharp on Nvidia's imminent Q4 FY26 earnings, which are expected to provide a guide of $75-76 billion or more for Q1 FY27, confirming the momentum. The mid-March GTC event will be critical for detailing the inference roadmap and offering early sales guidance for 2026-27, according to sources close to the planning.

In a brief statement, a spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment on specific analyst projections but pointed to the company's consistent execution in capitalizing on AI trends. Rivalry in the inference space is heating up, but for now, analysts see constructive upside through 2026, with potential for quarterly revenue to hit $90 billion by the end of fiscal 2027.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the expected revenue acceleration percentage; it is 34% in second-half 2026, not 35%.