Nvidia fined 5.2 million euros for omission influence crypto on turnover – IT Pro – News

Nvidia has been fined EUR 5.2 million by the US 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 gave all the more the impression that the gaming industry was therefore not significantly affected. Nvidia agrees to pay the fine, “without acknowledging or denying the SEC’s findings.”

It’s probably a quarter a in two of the 2018 financial year. With the announcements of the quarterly figures for quarter three in four crypto 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 on the rise since the beginning of this year dalen and availability is increasing especially at Nvidia. However, the original suggested retail prices for video cards are still out of reach. Nvidia invests also in reductions in gpu prices at online stores under the slogan ‘Restocked & Reloaded’.