Futures Market Rises on Optimism Around Corporate Earnings
Futures are showing gains in early trading, supported by optimism around corporate earnings, particularly in technology and select cyclical segments. Many Asian markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year, keeping regional trading light and volume subdued. U.S. markets are trading with a modestly positive and cautiously optimistic tone as major equity futures climb and global stock benchmarks rally, reflecting a rebound from recent volatility driven by artificial-intelligence sentiment and sector rotation.The broader backdrop includes renewed interest in tech and defense stocks after markets shook off some of last week's AI-related disruption concerns, with investors rotating back into sectors seen as better positioned for near-term earnings momentum. Gold and other commodities have seen modest gains alongside the stock rebound, while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have remained relatively stable. Oil markets, which had been pressured by geopolitical headlines earlier in the week, are trading with less dramatic moves as diplomatic progress in Middle East talks eases some risk.In pre-market trading, S&P 500 futures rose 0.21%, Nasdaq futures rose 0.28% and Dow futures rose 0.07%.Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.HIGHER -Nvidiaup 2% after Meta Platformsannounced a multi-year strategic partnership with the company to advance its long-term AI infrastructure roadmapUP AFTER EARNINGS -SolarEdgeup 14%Wingstopup 13%Verisk Analyticsup 12%Global Paymentsup 11%Insuletup 7%Analog Devicesup 5%DOWN AFTER EARNINGS -Axcelisdown 14%Palo Alto Networksdown 7%LOWER -Applied Digitaldown 8% after Nvidia disclosed that it exited its $177M stake in the company
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- Optimistic Earnings Forecast: Nvidia anticipates fourth-quarter revenue for fiscal 2026 to reach $65 billion, representing a 65% year-over-year growth, highlighting the company's strong demand in the AI chip market and its leadership position.
- Increased Capital Expenditures: Major tech companies plan to further increase capital expenditures in 2026, primarily for AI infrastructure, which will directly boost Nvidia's GPU sales and solidify its market dominance.
- Surge in Product Demand: CEO Jensen Huang noted that demand for the Blackwell platform data center products is “off the charts,” indicating rapid growth in market demand for Nvidia's AI computing products.
- Record of Exceeding Estimates: Nvidia has surpassed Wall Street's earnings expectations in 20 out of the last 22 quarters, demonstrating strong performance stability and management's clear visibility into future results, with expectations to continue this trend.
SoftBank Group Corp's Decision: SoftBank Group Corp has decided to dissolve its share stake in Nvidia Corp, indicating a strategic shift in its investment portfolio.
SEC Filing: The dissolution of the stake was formally communicated through a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting regulatory compliance in the process.
- AI Spending Surge: Gartner forecasts that global artificial intelligence spending will reach approximately $2.5 trillion by 2026, driving investments in related technologies and infrastructure, which will further accelerate industry growth.
- Hyperscaler Investments: Major hyperscalers like Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle plan to collectively invest over $600 billion in 2026, with over 75% directed towards AI infrastructure projects, reflecting strong confidence in AI technology.
- Nvidia's Market Dominance: Despite competitive pressures, Nvidia still commands about 90% of the AI chip market and is expected to secure over $500 billion in revenue commitments from 2025 to 2026, demonstrating its continued leadership in the AI sector.
- TSMC's Strong Growth: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company anticipates nearly 30% revenue growth in 2026, with AI chip revenue expected to compound at a mid-to-high 50% annual growth rate, indicating its critical role and robust demand in the global semiconductor market.
- Significant Revenue Growth: Sandisk's data center segment revenue surged 76% year-over-year to $440 million in Q2 FY2026, indicating strong demand in AI infrastructure, which is expected to further enhance overall company performance.
- Strong Market Demand: The shortage of HDDs has led to a surge in demand for Sandisk's flash storage products, a trend anticipated to continue until 2028, providing sustained growth momentum for the company to capture a larger market share in a competitive landscape.
- Improved Profitability: Sandisk's adjusted earnings per share quintupled year-over-year to $6.20 in the last quarter, with analysts projecting earnings to reach $39.45 in the current fiscal year, showcasing the company's profit potential in AI storage solutions.
- Technological Collaboration Prospects: Sandisk's partnership with SK Hynix to develop high-bandwidth flash could enable an 8 to 16-fold increase in memory capacity, further enhancing its competitiveness in AI chip systems and indicating potential for future market share growth.
- Updated Revenue Sharing: Microsoft has revised its revenue share agreement with OpenAI to receive 20% of total revenue until 2032, ensuring ongoing financial benefits that solidify its market position in the AI sector.
- Increased Collaboration Flexibility: The new deal allows OpenAI to collaborate with other compute providers without Microsoft’s first right of refusal, enhancing OpenAI's innovation and market expansion potential, which may accelerate product diversification.
- Formation of Public Benefit Corporation: Microsoft will support OpenAI in establishing a public benefit corporation (PBC) and secure a 27% stake valued at approximately $135 billion, which not only strengthens Microsoft's influence in AI but also provides OpenAI with essential funding for long-term growth.
- Future Funding Plans: OpenAI aims to close a new funding round in Q1 2026 to scale its operations, which will create new growth opportunities for the partnership with Microsoft, further deepening their collaboration in the AI field.
- Deal Impact: Nvidia's multi-year agreement with Meta is viewed by Needham as a positive catalyst for the chipmaker, with expectations of stock price increases despite unknown specifics, reflecting strong demand for AI infrastructure.
- Growth Engine: Analyst Bolton emphasizes that Nvidia is likely to remain the primary growth engine in the data center market, driven by surging hyperscaler spending needs, although competitive dynamics may pressure long-term positioning.
- Innovative Deployments: Meta will increase its use of Nvidia's Grace CPUs in its data centers and plans to deploy Nvidia's upcoming Vera CPUs at scale next year, marking the first large-scale deployment of Nvidia's technology, showcasing the depth of their collaboration.
- Efficiency Enhancements: Meta will also utilize Nvidia's Spectrum-X to boost network efficiency and adopt Nvidia's Confidential Computing for WhatsApp, enhancing AI capabilities while safeguarding user privacy, further solidifying Nvidia's market position in AI technology.











