Nvidia tops 3Q expectations

Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) beat consensus analyst estimates in the third quarter.

After market close Thursday, the maker of chipsets for accelerating 3D graphics reported fiscal third quarter net income of $28.1 million, or 35 cents per share. First Call's survey of six analysts predicted a profit of 32 cents per share for the quarter ended Oct. 29.

Shares of Nvidia traded at 65.0625 in afterhours activity on the Island electronic communication network, immediately following the release of quarterly results. Nvidia shares tumbled more than 10 percent to 62.1875 in Thursday's regular trading, ahead of the third quarter report.

Third quarter revenue more than doubled year-over-year to $198.2 million from $97 million. Operating income rose 142 percent to $36.6 million from $15.1 million.

Nvidia's business has grown lately as the company's chip designs piled up PC manufacturer wins ahead of rivals 3dfx (Nasdaq: TDFX) and ATI Technologies (Nasdaq: ATYT). 3dfx's July quarter was a letdown, and the company warned it would report disappointing results for the quarter ending in October. ATI lost money in the last two quarters, but the company expects to report a profit in the current quarter.

• NVIDIA tops second quarter estimates>