Jensen Huang Told Investors in Seoul to "Buy at a Discount" During the Recent AI Stock Sell-Off. Here's Whether His Call Has Paid Off.

Jensen Huang Told Investors in Seoul to "Buy at a Discount" During the Recent AI Stock Sell-Off. Here's Whether His Call Has Paid Off.

Manali Pradhan, CFA, The Motley Fool

Tue, August 25, 2026 at 5:42 PM GMT+3 4 min read

• NVDA +0.99%
• ^GSPC +0.15%

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang saw an investment opportunity during the sharp global sell-off in technology stocks in June. Speaking to reporters in Seoul on June 8, Huang said that investors should be happy because they could now "buy at a discount." He also asserted again that the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out was still in its early stages.

Nvidia's stock performance alone doesn't tell the whole story. The company's shares are up by around 2.2% since his comments, trailing the S&P 500's gain of about 3.1% over the same period (as of Aug. 21).

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So, was Nvidia attractively valued during the sell-off, and does some of that discount still exist after the recent share price gains?

Nvidia looked reasonably valued during the sell-off

Nvidia's business was still growing rapidly even as its stock price fell. The company had reported earnings results for its fiscal 2027 first quarter (which ended April 26) just three weeks before these comments. In the period, Nvidia's revenue soared 85% year over year to $81.6 billion, with data center revenue surging 92% to $75.2 billion. However, the stock had fallen roughly 13% from its May 14 closing price to June 5, the last trading day before Huang made those comments.

Around that time, the consensus on Wall Street was that Nvidia would earn $8.93 per share in its fiscal 2027 and $12.67 in its fiscal 2028. Based on its June 8 opening price of $210.18, the stock was trading at about 23.5 times fiscal 2027 earnings and just 16.6 times fiscal 2028 earnings. Those multiples appear reasonable for a company whose revenue had just grown 85% and whose largest customers were still struggling to secure enough AI computing capacity.

Now, analysts expect earnings of $9.01 per share in fiscal 2027 and $13 per share in fiscal 2028. At Nvidia's closing price of $214.72 (as of Aug. 21, 2026), the stock trades at roughly 23.8 times fiscal 2027 earnings and 16.5 times fiscal 2028 earnings. Hence, while Nvidia's stock has risen, Wall Street's earnings expectations have increased in parallel.

Nvidia still looks attractive

Nvidia's ability to convert AI demand into cash also supports its valuation. The company generated $48.6 billion in free cash flow in its first quarter while spending only about $1.8 billion on property, equipment, and intangible assets. However, Nvidia still had $119 billion of manufacturing, supply, and capacity commitments at the end of the first quarter, reflecting the large amounts it has committed to secure future production.

Yet Nvidia remains in an attractive position because customers and partners bear much of the cost of building the data centers and physical infrastructure needed to run its chips. The four major hyperscalers -- Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Alphabet -- are expected to spend a combined $730 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026.

However, Huang's call hasn't passed its biggest test yet. Nvidia has not reported quarterly results since he made those comments. It is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter results on Aug. 26. Nvidia has guided for revenue in a range of $89.2 billion to $92.8 billion.

Hence, the stock could remain a smart pick for long-term investors if there's significant earnings growth to drive Nvidia's share price higher.

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Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Jensen Huang Told Investors in Seoul to "Buy at a Discount" During the Recent AI Stock Sell-Off. Here's Whether His Call Has Paid Off. was originally published by The Motley Fool