By George Glover and Adam Clark
Nvidia could soon face tighter restrictions on sales to China, according to a report.
The stock slid 1.1% to $138.54 after the closing bell Wednesday. Stock markets were closed Thursday for a national day of mourning for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Nvidia shares climbed 4.3% over the first five trading days of 2025. According to Dow Jones Market Data, the stock rose 6.9% over the first five days of 2023 and 5.5% over the same period in 2024. It went on to rack up triple-digit gains in both of those years as the artificial-intelligence craze drove up demand for its products and led to its profit surging.
The dip late Wednesday came after a report said the Biden administration plans to impose a final round of chip export restrictions before leaving office.
The regulations, which could be issued on Friday, would create three tiers of chip curbs, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The top tier of U.S. allies would get unmitigated access to American chips, while the majority of countries would be subject to some limits, and exports to a third group — including China — would be broadly prohibited.
“The worldwide interest in accelerated computing for everyday applications is a tremendous opportunity for the U.S. to cultivate, promoting the economy and adding U.S. jobs. A last-minute rule restricting exports to most of the world would be a major shift in policy that would not reduce the risk of misuse but would threaten economic growth and U.S. leadership,” a Nvidia spokeperson said Thursday.
Overall, China now is a smaller market for Nvidia. The company is restricted from selling its most advanced AI chips in the country. In the past four quarters, Nvidia’s China revenue reached $13.5 billion, accounting for 12% of the company’s global total, down from 21% a year earlier.
Separately, the government of the Netherlands said on Thursday that it had struck a deal for Nvidia to supply its products to help build an AI facility.
Nvidia also disclosed Wednesday that Ajay K. Puri, its executive vice president of worldwide field operations, sold $5.5 million worth of shares at prices ranging from $150.41 to $152.50 each.
The sales were conducted under a so-called Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders adopt such plans to remove the appearance of any bias they may have from the knowledge of nonpublic information. The plans automatically execute transactions when preset conditions such as volume, price, and timing are met.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com