Nvidia hits new peak, market cap crosses $5.6 trillion after report on US nod for H200 chip sales to China

Extending their bull run for the seventh straight trading session on Thursday, 14 May, shares of Nvidia advanced another 5% to hit a fresh record high of $236.47 after Reuters reported, citing sources, that the US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy its second-most powerful AI chip, the H200.

According to the report, the approved buyers include Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, while Lenovo and Foxconn were cleared to distribute the chips. Sources said each approved customer could purchase up to 75,000 H200 chips under US licensing rules.

The US requirements reportedly made it clear that the chips could not be used for military purposes. The government is also seeking 25% of the revenue generated from the exports, and in order to legally collect the export fee, the arrangement requires the hardware to physically pass through US territory for testing before shipment to China.

Despite the approvals, the report said that no sales have been completed so far. Chinese firms have reportedly slowed purchases following guidance from Beijing, which is pushing domestic companies to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor technology.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that “the Chinese central government has not let them, as of yet, buy the chips, because they’re trying to keep their investment focused on their own domestic industry.”

Before tighter US export curbs were introduced, Nvidia commanded nearly 95% of China’s advanced chip market. China once accounted for 13% of Nvidia’s revenue, and CEO Jensen Huang had previously estimated that the country’s AI market alone would be worth $50 billion this year, the report said.

Huang, who was not initially listed as part of the White House delegation to Beijing, joined the trip after receiving an invitation from President Donald Trump, a source told Reuters. Trump picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, raising hopes that the visit could finally unlock stalled efforts to sell H200 chips in China.

Joining Trump on the visit were several CEOs looking to resolve issues with China, including Elon Musk, who is viewed in China as both a visionary and, at times, a controversial figure.

In its last earnings report in February, Nvidia confirmed that while the US government had licensed shipments of “small amounts of H200 products to specific China-based customers,” the company had “not generated any revenue under the H200 licensing program” and did “not yet know whether any imports will be allowed into China.”

Trump first gave Nvidia the nod to sell the high-end H200 chips to China back in December, with the condition that the sales would occur “under conditions that allow for continued strong national security,” Barron’s had reported.

Nvidia m-cap tops $5.6 trillion

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, has gained 26% so far this year. The rally has pushed the company’s market capitalisation above $5.65 trillion. The shares are likely to remain in focus next week as the company is set to report its fiscal first-quarter FY2027 earnings results on May 20, 2026.

Nvidia also has a strong earnings surprise track record, having missed estimates only three times over the past five years. However, its most recent miss came in 2025. The company has since beaten estimates for three consecutive quarters.

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