Piper Sandler is making waves in the investment community by reiterating its “Buy” rating on Nvidia (NVDA), setting an ambitious price target of $225. As the premier pick for data center investment heading into 2026, Nvidia is poised to capitalize on its leadership in AI infrastructure and soaring demand for data centers.
Analyst Harsh Kumar highlights several key factors for this bullish outlook, particularly Nvidia’s remarkable 65.22% revenue growth over the past year, which underscores its status as the preeminent supplier for data center chips. Kumar’s optimism is fueled by Nvidia’s technology leadership, expanding partnerships, and a robust software platform that keeps competitors at bay as the demand for AI computing power escalates.
The financial community is buzzing about Nvidia’s forthcoming Vera Rubin rack-scale computing platform. Kumar believes this next-generation system will not only deliver significant performance gains but also begin contributing to revenues in the second half of 2026. Exhibited at CES 2026, the Vera Rubin platform is a highly-advanced full AI system that seamlessly combines six chips to function as a singular powerful computer.
Currently, NVDA trades at approximately 24.5 times its expected earnings over the next year, a valuation that Kumar describes as reasonable when set against the company’s upward growth trajectory.
Profit Projections and Market Cap Milestones
Wall Street analysts are buzzing with projections that Nvidia could surpass Alphabet as the world’s most profitable company by 2026. Over the past year, Alphabet recorded nearly $125 billion in profits, with Nvidia trailing closely at just under $100 billion. Expectations for 2026 suggest that while Alphabet’s revenue will grow by about 14%, Nvidia could see a staggering 50% revenue increase for its fiscal year ending January 2027.
If both giants maintain their current profit margins, projections indicate Nvidia will generate around $170 billion in profits, outpacing Alphabet which is expected to hit $146 billion.
This pivot toward AI data centers is indicative of a global trend; Nvidia projects that worldwide capital expenditures for data centers could soar to between $3 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030, with its GPUs potentially accounting for up to half of those expenditures.
Such rapid profit growth could not only elevate Nvidia’s revenue figures but also push its market cap beyond a remarkable $6 trillion threshold. Currently valued at approximately $4.6 trillion—having briefly touched $5 trillion—Nvidia could reach a market cap of $6.8 trillion by 2026 based on expected profits and a typical valuation of 40 times forward earnings.
As things stand, no other company seems set to challenge Nvidia’s market cap ambitions. Both Apple and Microsoft are lagging behind in terms of market cap and growth rates.
The consensus rating for NVDA stands as a “Strong Buy,” supported by 39 buy ratings, one hold, and a solitary sell according to recent analyst commentary. With an average price target hovering around $264.97, potential gains from current levels could exceed 43.34%.
Given his impressive track record, Kumar’s 72% success rate and 35% average return per rating lend considerable weight to his bullish projections for Nvidia as it gears up as the top data center play in 2026.
