Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Falls Premarket on Proposed AI Chip Export Restrictions

Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) shares slipped in pre-market trading on Friday, March 6, falling $2.48 (-1.35%) to $180.86 as of 7:32 AM EST, extending Thursday’s session losses triggered by a Bloomberg report on sweeping new US chip export restrictions. The stock had already dropped as much as 1.9% to session lows on Thursday after news broke that the Commerce Department drafted regulations requiring American approval for AI chip sales to virtually any country in the world.

The sell-off reflects growing investor concern that the proposed rules could significantly complicate Nvidia’s international sales pipeline, which has been a critical engine of the company’s explosive revenue growth. With the stock now trading well below its 52-week high of $212.19, the regulatory overhang adds fresh uncertainty to an otherwise fundamentally strong story.

Proposed Export Rules Could Expand U.S. Control Over AI Chips

Officials at the US Commerce Department have written draft regulations that would expand chip export controls far beyond the approximately 40 countries currently subject to restrictions, requiring companies to seek US government permission for virtually all exports of AI accelerators from companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

The proposed framework is tiered based on the scale of deployment: shipments of up to 1,000 of Nvidia’s latest GB300 GPUs would undergo a relatively straightforward review, while larger clusters would require preclearance before export licenses are granted, potentially including conditions such as business model disclosures or allowing US government site visits.

For the most massive deployments, those exceeding 200,000 GB300 GPUs owned by a single company in a single country, host governments would need to be directly involved, with the US only approving such exports to allies that make stringent security commitments and matching investments in American AI.

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NVDA Stock Brief: Price Action and Key Metrics

As of the March 5 close, Nvidia shares finished at $183.34, up a modest $0.30 (+0.16%) on the day, though pre-market trading on March 6 showed the stock sliding to $180.86, a decline of $2.48 (-1.35%) as of 7:32 AM EST, reflecting continued investor unease over the regulatory news.

The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $86.62 to $212.19, with a current market capitalization of approximately $4.46 trillion. Despite the near-term headwinds, the one-year return remains a robust +56.34%, vastly outpacing the S&P 500’s +16.91% over the same period, and the five-year return stands at an extraordinary +1,375.39%.

Analysts remain broadly bullish, with the consensus one-year price target sitting at $265.18, well above current levels, and Tigress Financial maintaining a Strong Buy rating on March 5, raising its price target from $350 to $360. Fundamentals remain strong, with trailing revenue of $215.94 billion, a profit margin of 55.60%, and Q4 FY26 earnings per share of $1.62, beating estimates of $1.54.

Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.