Graphics chipmaker Nvidia handily beat fourth quarter earnings targets Wednesday thanks to strong customer interest in its deep learning technology.

The company reported a net income of $297 million, or 35 cents per share (statement).

Non-GAAP earnings were 52 cents per share on a revenue of $1.4 billion, up 12 percent year-over-year.

Wall Street was looking for earnings of 32 cents per share with $1.31 billion in revenue.

For the year, Nvidia brought in $5.01 billion in revenue, a 7 percent increase from fiscal 2015, with earnings of $1.67 per share.

Once again touting the company's "record results", CEO Jen-Hsun Huang stressed Nvidia's progress in building specialized visual computing platforms for large growth markets.

"NVIDIA is at the center of four exciting growth opportunities -- PC gaming, VR, deep learning, and self-driving cars," Huang said in prepared remarks. "We are especially excited about deep learning, a breakthrough in artificial intelligence algorithms that takes advantage of our GPU's ability to process data simultaneously."

In November Nvidia unveiled its hyperscale data center platform for deep learning with the goal of encouraging developers to build networks and smart apps rooted in artificial intelligence techniques.

Last spring , Huang unveiled several new technologies for advancing deep learning amid the GPU Technology Conference.

Looking ahead to the current quarter, Nvidia expects revenue of $1.26 billion. Analysts are looking for revenue of at least $1.23 billion.

Nvidia's stock climbed roughly 6 percent in late trading following the report.