Analysts are raising their forecasts ahead of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) announcing its April quarter earnings on May 22.
The latest estimate is for earnings of $13.2 billion, $5.62 per share, on revenue of $24.6 billion. A $30 billion quarter is now considered likely by the end of the year.
NVDA stock opened this morning at about $937 per share, a market capitalization of over $2.3 trillion. That’s up 92% just in 2024 and 196% over the last year.
The Lair of the AI King
Traders are betting on a wild swing in shares after earnings, buying both puts and calls in what’s called a “straddle” trade. In recent weeks, however, more traders have bought puts, indicating they expect the stock to fall.
Nvidia has become the third most valuable company in U.S. markets thanks to graphics processing chips now used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Cloud Czars like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been upgrading their data centers with them. They want to attract customers deploying large language models (LLMs) accessing all their data, or all of the Internet’s.
Nvidia’s “Superchips,” named for legendary programmer Grace Hopper, mathematician Donald Blackwell and (in late 2025) astronomer Vera Rudin, are much larger than traditional chips but made with the latest 3-5 nm processor technology.
Their power consumption has become a significant concern, one the Rudin chips will try to address.
Nvidia first came to prominence for its graphics processors used in video gaming. This was still one-third of the business in fiscal 2023. However, it’s now just over one-quarter of its haul, thanks to its rise in data centers.
This means Nvidia is more dependent than ever on a few large customers. Any sign that their appetites are being sated or that they might replace Nvidia would send the stock down hard.
Nvidia Earnings: What Happens Next?
Don’t go home early on May 22. Nvidia’s results, expected just after 4 p.m. Eastern, will drive the rest of the market.
As of this writing, Dana Blankenhorn had a LONG position in NVDA and MSFT. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
