Nvidia Scored an H200 Win in China, But These Analysts Warn It May Not Be a Reason to Buy NVDA Stock

Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) has been one of the biggest success stories of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, delivering spectacular gains and leaving investors constantly searching for the next NVDA. But Nvidia itself still has plenty of room to grow, with its graphics processing units (GPUs) remaining in huge demand as companies race to build AI-powered data centers. One of the biggest hurdles in that growth story, however, is China. 

China is a large and important market for Nvidia. The country once contributed more than 20% of Nvidia’s data center revenue, but escalating U.S. export restrictions, combined with China’s push to build domestic technology, have caused Nvidia to lose much of its advanced AI chip market share there and cost the company billions in revenue. And now, the chipmaker appears to be getting a small opening back into China, but it may be too early for investors to celebrate. 

Chinese tech giants ByteDance and Tencent (TCEHY) have reportedly begun receiving Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, giving Nvidia a much-needed foothold in a market where its more powerful chips remain restricted. Still, Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson believes the development will provide only a “minimal” boost to Nvidia’s China revenue for the foreseeable future. Beijing wants most of the H200 chips to remain outside mainland China, and every purchase still requires case-by-case approval from regulators. 

While companies can use the chips in Hong Kong, limited data center…