The popularity of Bitcoin mining unexpectedly creates a big demand for video cards and some retailers are taking advantage and even jacking up its prices.
Inflated prices do not seem to be a deterrent as retailers both physical and online struggle to keep supplies available. To date, the trend does not show any signs of an immediate slowdown and therefore, consumers who intend to grab a GPU, strictly for gaming, are noticeably on the losing end.
In the meantime, Nvidia is aware of the scarcity of its products and promises that it is working really hard to address the ongoing shortage.
Discussion With Its Investors
Remarkably, the company posted a record $2.91 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of its 2018 fiscal year report. It might be an uphill struggle for PC gamers who plan to purchase a GPU anytime soon, but the firm's sales numbers might make it the least of its worries.
The $2.46 billion alone was generated by the company's GPU manufacturing business. Industry experts credit the increased demand for Nvidia's Pascal-based GeForce lineup to new games, holiday-season demand, iCafe upgrades, eSports, and cryptocurrency mining.
Lucrative Investment, Increased Sales, Real Risk
During the company's recent earnings call, Colette Kress, Nvidia's executive vice president and chief financial officer, noted that the unexpectedly strong demand from cryptocurrency markets unusually went beyond what the manufacturer had projected.
A comparison made between the current and previous quarter clearly indicates that functions related to cryptocurrency were the top sales drivers. Due to the current craze concerning cryptocurrency mining, gamers are forced to purchase their GPUs for more than the regular asking price. The firm confirmed that it does not intend to rely on that current trend.
"Our main focus remains on our core market, as cryptocurrency will likely remain volatile," detailed Kress.
In fact, it forecasts that revenue generated by the miners might show no growth or smaller numbers than now.
Jensen Huang, the company CEO, is clearly happy with the posted sales numbers but agrees with the speculation that it could just stay the same when the next fiscal year starts. Huang also confirmed that his company is in talks with retailers to prioritize gamers over miners.
Shortages Lead To Delays
Nvidia's biggest competitor, AMD, revealed that component shortages for HBM2 memory and GDDR5 are its biggest reasons for production delays. Industry analysts are quick to point out that this shortfall is industry-wide.
Nevertheless, Nvidia did not formally confirm its reasons for manufacturing delays. Experts can just speculate that it is for the same reasons as everyone else.
