The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case regarding Nvidia's revenue from crypto mining, potentially making it more difficult for shareholders to file a securities fraud lawsuit.
Nvidia is trying to stop an investor lawsuit accusing the company of misleading shareholders about its dependence on crypto mining revenue before the market crash in 2018. The justices announced Monday they would consider Nvidia's argument that the complaint lacked sufficient detail to proceed.
A ruling in Nvidia's favor could give companies additional leverage to seek early dismissal of shareholder lawsuits, thus avoiding the cost of a full-scale defense. The case revolves around protections Congress gave companies under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The Supreme Court's 2024-25 term looks set to be a critical time for shareholder litigation. Earlier this month, the court said it would consider dismissing a shareholder lawsuit filed against Meta Platforms over the data harvesting scandal involving political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
In the latest lawsuit, shareholders allege that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang concealed the fact that the company's record revenue growth in 2017 and 2018 was driven by sales of its largest GeForce GPU product for mining-related activities rather than gaming sales.
Investors argue that volatility in the cryptocurrency market means the company is exposed to greater risk than it disclosed. In November 2018, the company announced that it had failed to meet revenue forecasts, causing shares to fall more than 28% in two days.
Shareholders told the Supreme Court that analysts saw this as contrary to Nvidia's previous assurances that mining-related demand accounted for a small portion of revenues. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that the case could proceed.
In 2020, Nvidia agreed to pay $5.5 million to resolve related allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
*This is not investment advice.