Value stocks typically trade at lower-than-average price-to-earnings ratios. Nvidia isn’t quite there yet—it trades at a forward PE ratio of just over 21 times according to FactSet, just slightly ahead of the 20.9 times average for the S&P 500 as a whole.

But by other standards, Nvidia is acting more like a value stock than a growth play. Notably it is giving cash back to its shareholders. The company plans to return 50% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. For 2026, Nvidia is expected to generate $171.76 billion in free cash flow, so it should be handing back more than $85 billion.

That makes Nvidia look more like Apple, which returns nearly all of its free cash flow to shareholdersvia share buybacks, than many of its large-cap technology peers which are seeing their own cash flows diminish due to the need for heavy spending on AI infrastructure.

It’s a comparison that might not excite shareholders as Apple faces questions about its record of innovation in recent years. But Apple’s consistent returns have led to a premium valuation, with the iPhone maker trading at a forward PE ratio of more than 28 times currently.

If Nvidia can emulate that shareholders will be rewarded, even though it’s not quite the explosive gains of yesteryear.