Investors were not impressed by Nvidia's quarterly performance and outlook even though it handily beat Wall Street's expectations thanks to the booming demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The cyclical nature of chip stocks could affect Nvidia stock in the near term. Unfortunately for investors who want to buy Nvidia shares, its success has made determining whether it is a buy now a more difficult problem.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has become the second-largest company in the world, with a market capitalization of $3.3 trillion as of this writing. The semiconductor giant's impressive rise can be justified by the phenomenal increase in its revenue and earnings over the past couple of years,