Citigroup has reaffirmed its bullish stance on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), expecting the semiconductor giant to outperform later this year.
The bank maintained a ‘Buy’ rating and reiterated a $270 price target on the chipmaker’s stock, implying roughly 50% upside from NVDA’s last closing price of $182.
Citi expects Nvidia to outperform in the second half of 2026 as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure strengthens and revenue visibility improves into 2027.
In this line, analyst Atif Malik projects January-quarter revenue of about $67 billion, above the $65.6 billion consensus estimate, with April-quarter guidance seen at roughly $73 billion, also ahead of expectations.
Growth is expected to be driven by strong adoption of Nvidia’s B300 platform and its upcoming Rubin architecture. Citi forecasts these launches will fuel a 34% acceleration in second-half 2026 sales as AI use cases expand across both training and inference workloads.
Margins are projected to remain resilient, with fiscal 2027 gross margins seen near 75% despite rising component costs, supported by Nvidia’s scale and pricing power. Operating expenses are expected to grow in the high-30% range, reflecting continued investment alongside cost discipline.
Despite intensifying competition in inference and higher capital spending by hyperscalers, Malik believes Nvidia will maintain system-level leadership in AI training and inference. Citi views the valuation as attractive, applying a consistent 30-times multiple to projected 2027 earnings.
Investor focus is also shifting to Nvidia’s mid-March GTC conference, where the company is expected to detail its inference roadmap and provide early 2026–2027 AI sales guidance. With stronger performance anticipated in the second half of 2026, Citi recommends adding to positions ahead of a potential renewed outperformance phase.
Wall Street bullish on NVDA stock
Meanwhile, broader Wall Street remains bullish on Nvidia over the next 12 months. According to TipRanks, based on 39 analysts, Nvidia holds a ‘Strong Buy’ consensus, including 37 ‘Buy’ ratings, one ‘Hold’, and one ‘Sell’.
The average 12-month price target stands at $260.38, implying a 42.43% upside from the most recent price of $182.81. Targets range from a low of $200 to a high of $352, reflecting expectations for continued momentum in Nvidia’s AI-driven business.
