on December 1, 2018 unless earlier repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date. As of January 25, 2015, none of the conditions allowing holders of the Notes to convert had been met. Please refer to Note 11 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion.

 

Capital Return to Shareholders



Our Board of Directors has authorized us to repurchase up to $3.70 billion of our common stock through January 2016. As of January 25, 2015, we had repurchased $3,265.2 million of that amount, leaving up to $434.8 million available under this authorization through January 2016. During fiscal year 2015, we repurchased 44.4 million shares of our common stock for $813.6 million and paid $186.5 million in cash dividends - equivalent to $0.085 per share on a quarterly basis, or $0.34 per share on an annual basis - to our common shareholders. As a result, we returned $1.0 billion to shareholders during fiscal year 2015 in the form of share repurchases and dividend payments.



On November 6, 2014 we announced our intention to return approximately $600.0 million to our shareholders in fiscal year 2016 through a combination of share repurchases and cash dividends. On February 11, 2015, we declared that we would pay our next quarterly cash dividend of $0.085 per share on March 19, 2015, to all shareholders of record on February 26, 2015.



Our cash dividend program and the payment of future cash dividends under that program are subject to continued capital availability and our Board's continuing determination that the dividend program and the declaration of dividends thereunder are in the best interests of our shareholders and are in compliance with all laws and agreements of NVIDIA applicable to the declaration and payment of cash dividends. Please refer to Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion.



Operating Capital and Capital Expenditure Requirements

 

We believe that our existing cash balances and anticipated cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet our operating, acquisition, share repurchase, cash dividend and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months. However, there is no assurance that we will not need to raise additional equity or debt financing within this time frame. Additional financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all and may be dilutive to our then-current shareholders. We also may require additional capital for other purposes not presently contemplated. If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital, we could be required to curtail capital equipment purchases or research and development expenditures, which could harm our business. Factors that could affect our cash used or generated from operations and, as a result, our need to seek additional borrowings or capital include:

 

•decreased demand and market acceptance for our products and/or our customers’ products;

•inability to successfully develop and produce in volume production our next-generation products;

•competitive pressures