(Reuters) - Nvidia Corp's (O:NVDA) quarterly revenue surged more than 50 percent for the second straight quarter and beat expectations, helped by rising demand for its graphics chips and strength in rapidly growing areas such as self-driving systems and artificial intelligence.
The company also forecast revenue of $1.90 billion, plus or minus 2 percent, for the current quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $1.88 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Nvidia's shares were down 2 percent at $114.00 in after-hours trading on Thursday.
Revenue in the company's graphics processing units business, which contributes more than three-quarters to its total revenue, rose 57 percent to $1.85 billion in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 29.
The company has traditionally dominated the high-end PC gaming market, where its chips are used to power graphically demanding games such as Electronic Arts Inc's (O:EA) "Titanfall 2" and Ubisoft Entertainment SA's (PA:UBIP) "Watch Dogs 2".
Revenue in Nvidia's automotive business, which produces the DRIVE PX 2 self-driving system used by Tesla Inc (O:TSLA), reported a 37.6 percent rise to $128 million.
Analysts had expected revenue of $135.3 million from the business, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.
Nvidia's total revenue rose to $2.17 billion from $1.40 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.11 billion.
The company's net income more than tripled to $655 million, or 99 cents per share.
Excluding items, Nvidia earned $1.13 per share.
Nvidia's shares, the best performer on the S&P 500 index (SPX) in 2016, had risen nearly five times in the last 12 months up to Thursday's close.