Nvidia stock falls as China reportedly restricts imports of H200 chips

Nvidia (NVDA) banal sank astir 2% successful aboriginal trading Wednesday aft Reuters reported that Chinese authorities person instructed customs agents to prohibition the entranceway of the tech giant's H200 AI chips into the country.

The driblet successful stock terms outpaced the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite's (^IXIC) 1% diminution arsenic stocks slid crossed the board.

The US formally approved H200 exports to China with immoderate conditions connected Tuesday.

Citing radical briefed connected the matter, Reuters besides reported that Chinese authorities officials instructed home tech firms not to acquisition H200 chips unless necessary. Nvidia did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the report.

The quality followed a abstracted study from The Information Tuesday that Beijing would lone let imports of the AI chips nether peculiar circumstances similar assemblage probe oregon improvement labs.

Simmering geopolitical tensions betwixt the US and China person disrupted Nvidia's income to what was erstwhile successful the not-so-distant past the chipmaker's second-most important market. Revenue from China, including Hong Kong, fell 45% from the erstwhile twelvemonth to astir $3 cardinal successful Nvidia's astir caller quarter, according to Bloomberg data.

Initial disruption to Nvidia's China concern came from the US authorities arsenic Trump restricted the company's lowest-end AI spot income to the state successful April 2025. But aft persistent lobbying and praise by CEO Jensen Huang, the president reversed his stance successful instrumentality for a 15% chopped of the company's income to the country. Trump's petition for a kickback from Nvidia's China income appeared to crook disconnected officials successful Beijing, who began clamping down connected imports past summer.

Trump relaxed his posture further successful the past 2 months, saying helium would let Nvidia to export higher-power H200 chips to China successful speech for a 25% chopped of those sales.

Nvidia CFO Colette Kress stressed the value of China — which Huang has said represents a $50 cardinal AI marketplace — during a telephone with analysts astatine CES successful Las Vegas connected Jan. 5, but near questions astir the marketplace accidental for H200 mostly unanswered amid geopolitical uncertainties.

"[A]gain, it's not each thing that we tin close present control...let's conscionable hold to spot however we tin get our H200 out," she told analysts.

China's reported restrictions unveiled Tuesday further complicate Nvidia's path.

"Officials are prioritizing home spot development, adjacent though Chinese processors inactive lag [the H200s] successful grooming ample standard AI models," wrote Hedgeye Risk Management analysts successful a enactment to clients Wednesday.