Investors were not impressed by Nvidia's quarterly performance and outlook even though it handily beat Wall Street's expectations thanks to the booming demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Nvidia sells graphics processing units (GPUs) that provide computing power for various uses. More than two decades ago, the main function was to support PC gaming. But what has put the business on the map in recent years has been its GPUs that enable training AI models in massive data centers, now representing the bulk of the chipmaker's sales.

Nvidia’s talk of huge market opportunities in autonomous driving and robotics is “potentially comforting for investors thinking about what might come next for the company,” an analyst says.

Nvidia still carries the stock-boosting power, but its strength may be waning as some investors wonder how long it will last. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Nvidia founder Jensen Huang’s praise of Samsung Electronics memory chip capabilities last Wednesday prompted a 3% jump in the company’s shares.