Nvidia has been fined 5.2 million euros by the American market watchdog SEC. The company has not always informed its shareholders about the effect of the crypto mining market on sales of its gaming GPUs.
The SEC finds Nvidia should have reported to its shareholders that its gaming GPU sales in “consecutive quarters in fiscal year 2018” were “significantly” impacted by the crypto mining market. That market is very volatile and that knowledge is ‘critical’ for investors to be able to make estimates about how Nvidia will perform in this market in the future. While the effect of crypto on the gaming graphics card market may seem obvious, there are strict rules in the US and elsewhere regarding keeping shareholders fully informed.
The SEC also charges Nvidia that the company did mention that other industries were experiencing the influence of the crypto market. This all the more gave the impression that the gaming industry was not significantly affected. Nvidia agrees to pay the fine, “without acknowledging or denying the SEC’s findings.”
This probably concerns quarters one and two of the 2018 fiscal year. In the announcements of the quarterly figures for quarters three and four, crypto coins were specifically mentioned as strong influences on the demand for gaming video cards. Net profits in quarters one and two of the 2018 financial year were EUR 507 million and EUR 496 million, respectively. Compared to the same quarters in the previous year, those amounts had increased by 144 and 123 percent.
The prices of video cards have been falling since the beginning of this year and availability is increasing, especially at Nvidia. However, the original suggested retail prices for video cards are still out of reach. Nvidia also invests in reductions in GPU prices at online stores under the slogan ‘Restocked & Reloaded’.
The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition was released in March of 2017 and falls under Nvidia fiscal year 2018