NVIDIA (NVDA -3.63%) The stock is falling on Thursday after the company released its second-quarter results. The artificial intelligence (AI) leader’s shares were down 3.2% as of 10:15 a.m. ET, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Nvidia released second-quarter earnings after the market closed yesterday, delivering results that were significantly better than most Wall Street targets. The company also issued third-quarter guidance that beat the average analyst estimate. However, expectations were sky-high ahead of the report, and comments from the conference call with investors suggested that investors may have to wait longer for the semiconductor specialist’s next-generation Blackwell processors.

Nvidia shares slip despite great Q2 results

Nvidia reported non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $30 billion in its fiscal second quarter ended July 28. The average analyst estimate was for the company to report adjusted earnings of $0.64 on revenue of $28.7 billion. The company’s revenue increased 122% year over year during the period, and adjusted earnings per share increased 152% compared to the same period last year.

It was a fantastic quarter for the company, with AI-related demand driving another round of big growth among data center customers. Segment revenue increased 154% year over year, and strong selling prices for graphics processing units (GPUs) and accelerators in the category helped the company post an adjusted gross margin of 75.7%. While that was slightly down from the 78.9% in the first quarter, it still exceeded the company’s 75.5% margin target and signaled that Nvidia’s pricing power on its most advanced hardware remains very strong.

Strong Q3 forecast does not overshadow concerns about Blackwell delays

For the third quarter, Nvidia forecast revenue of $32.5 billion — a target that was above Wall Street’s average estimate of $31.7 billion for the period. The company also forecast an adjusted gross margin of 75%. While this suggests gross margin will decline quarter-over-quarter, the decline here seems very small and should actually ease concerns about pricing power.

But despite strong second-quarter results and third-quarter guidance, investors are focusing on some uncertainty surrounding the launch of Nvidia’s Blackwell processors. The company said it will ramp up production of its next-generation chip platform in the fourth quarter of this year, suggesting the new processors could miss their originally announced 2024 release window and not appear until 2025.

The possibility of a Blackwell delay due to a design flaw was widely discussed prior to Nvidia’s earnings report, so the possibility of a release delay until next year isn’t surprising. But expectations were so high prior to the report that investors appear to be focusing on the impact of a relatively short delay rather than signs that the business is otherwise running at full speed.