Nvidia approves record $150 billion share buyback expansion

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Sep 29, 2026, 10:10 UTC

On September 28, 2026, Nvidia's board approved a $150 billion expansion of its share repurchase program, bringing the total authorization to $235 billion, a figure that represents the largest share buyback authorization in corporate history. The timing followed substantial cash generation tied to demand for Nvidia's AI chips. In the days surrounding the announcement, director Mark Stevens sold $300.1 million in Nvidia stock on September 27, and executive vice president Timothy Teter sold $6.78 million in shares around the same period. Despite an initial positive reaction, Nvidia's stock closed below $130 following the news. Separately, Citi projected an $11 billion optical networking boom driven in part by Nvidia demand, adding another data point to the company's broader footprint in AI infrastructure.

The scale of the authorization sets a corporate benchmark and signals that Nvidia's leadership believes the stock is worth supporting at current prices, or at least wants the market to read it that way. Buybacks at this size reduce the share count over time, which can lift earnings per share and return capital to shareholders without committing to dividends. But the insider sales by Stevens and Teter complicate that picture. When executives and directors sell hundreds of millions in stock at roughly the same moment the company announces record repurchases, it invites questions about whose confidence to trust. Rising competition in AI chips also sits in the background, making the durability of Nvidia's cash generation a live question rather than a settled one.

None of the three camps have published reactions to this story yet. The Pro-AI camp would typically treat a $235 billion buyback as validation that AI-driven profits are real, durable, and large enough to reshape capital markets. The Anti-AI camp would likely point to the insider sales as the more honest signal, arguing that those closest to the company are cashing out even as the buyback announcement is used to reassure retail investors. A middle-ground position would probably acknowledge both the genuine strength of Nvidia's cash position and the legitimate uncertainty introduced by insider selling and intensifying chip competition, treating the buyback as a meaningful but incomplete picture of where the company stands.

The argument will sharpen when Nvidia reports its next quarterly earnings, which would show whether the cash generation supporting the buyback is holding up against competitive pressure, and whether the company has actually begun executing repurchases at the scale the authorization implies.