Shares in Nvidia (NVDA) hovered around the flatline in pre-market trading on Wednesday morning, as investors awaited the release of the chipmaker's first quarter earnings after the US market close.
Nvidia's earnings announcement is the most-anticipated of the season, as investor expectations have become increasingly high around the company, given its role as an enabler of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Trading has been choppy for the stock since the start of the year, leaving it up less than 1% year-to-date. The company has faced headwinds ranging from the release of a lower-cost AI model by Chinese startup DeepSeek to the Trump administration's ban on shipments of its H20 chips bound for China, as well as concerns related to expected semiconductor tariffs.
Ahead of the release of its latest earnings, CEO Jensen Huang showcased the company's new technologies at the Computex tradeshow in Taiwan last week, including its developments in humanoid robotics and custom AI infrastructure.
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For the first quarter, Nvidia is expected to report adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88 on revenue of $43.3bn (£32.05bn), according to Bloomberg analyst consensus data. In the same period last year, the company posted adjusted EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $26bn.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "All eyes will be drawn to Nvidia’s results due out later, and given the trade tariff turmoil which struck in April, there’s an expectation that the numbers and guidance might not be as stellar as investors have become used to.
"Nevertheless, Nvidia is still expected to rack up impressive sales growth of around 65% for the first quarter, year on year.
"There is an expectation that the outlook for Q2 will be slightly weaker than previously forecast, but there could well be a surprise on the upside. Updates from Nvidia’s mighty customers like Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta show there is still hunger to develop AI products and services, which are reliant on the chip giant’s technology."
NasdaqGS - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD As of 2:05:13 PM EDT. Market Open.
Shares in Tesla surged nearly 7% on Tuesday but slipped slightly in pre-market trading on Wednesday morning, after CEO Elon Musk pledged to spend more time at the electric vehicle (EV) company and his other businesses.
Musk said in a post on his social media platform X on Saturday that he was back to "spending 24/7 at work" and "must be super focused on X/aAI and Tesla".
Meanwhile, data released on Tuesday showed that Tesla sales continued to slump across Europe. Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) showed that deliveries of Tesla vehicles dropped by 49% to 7,261 units in April, compared with the same month last year.
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The drop in sales comes on the heels of protests held at Tesla facilities around the world, demonstrating against Musk's role in US president Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and overseeing cuts to government agencies.
Musk said last month in a call after the release of Tesla's first quarter earnings that he was going to spend less time in Washington and more time at his EV company. "Starting early next month, in May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly," he said.
NasdaqGS - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD As of 2:05:14 PM EDT. Market Open.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software company Salesforce (CRM) said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy cloud data management company Informatica (INFA) in a $8bn deal.
The announcement comes ahead of the release of Salesforce's latest earnings, which are due out on Wednesday. Salesforce has guided to total revenue of $9.71bn to $9.76bn for the first quarter, which would represent 6% to 7% growth year-on-year. Diluted earnings per share are expected to come in at between $1.49 and $1.51 for the quarter.
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"Investors will also be keen to see if Salesforce has got its mojo back and has begun to deliver top line growth again," said Hargreaves Lansdown's Streeter. "Salesforce has been shapeshifting, making multiple rounds of job cuts and refocusing the business on new opportunities.
"Its AI platform, Agentforce, showed early signs of momentum late last year, and there will be a lot of attention on growth here, but it’s not likely to have morphed into a big enough beast to be a game changer just yet."
NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD As of 2:05:09 PM EDT. Market Open.
Shares in AMC Entertainment (AMC) soared nearly 24% on Tuesday, after the cinema chain reported record admissions revenue for the Memorial Day weekend.
AMC's total revenue from Thursday to Monday was the company's third-biggest over a five-day period in more than decade.
The company said that more than seven million people attended its theatres in the US and its Odeon cinemas internationally in those five days.
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The release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and the live action Lilo & Stitch film helped drive attendance over the Memorial Day weekend.
"Finally it would appear that our industry has turned a corner," said CEO Adam Aron. "Since early April, weekend after weekend, moviegoers have been demonstrating their preference for theatrical moviegoing.
"A record-setting Memorial Day holiday is yet another sign of the continued strength and relevance of moviegoing in 2025. With many more potentially huge movies coming in June all the way through the end of 2025, and beyond that deeply into 2026 as well, we firmly expect to be enjoying a robust theatrical box office as we look ahead."
NYSE - Nasdaq Real Time Price • USD As of 2:05:13 PM EDT. Market Open.
On the London market, shares in B&Q-owner Kingfisher (KGF.L) were down nearly 3% on Wednesday morning, following the release of its latest results.
Kingfisher posted a 1.6% increase in total group sales to £3.3bn ($4.5bn) for the first quarter, with the most growth coming from the UK and Ireland, though sales fell 4.9% in France to £976m.
On the back of these figures, Kingfisher reiterated its full-year guidance, expecting adjusted profit before tax of around £480m to £540m.
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Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "DIY retailer Kingfisher got hammered for its last update and despite some bright spots in its latest release, it is apparent the business still needs some renovation.
"The company is sticking with guidance despite a better-than-expected showing from B&Q and other UK brands Screwfix and Tradepoint. This reflects the fact its French and Polish businesses are struggling. The latter partly as a result of a tricky geopolitical backdrop – with the country close to the frontline of one of the world’s key flashpoints thanks to its relative proximity to Russia.
"There may be some scepticism about how sustainable the performance in the UK can be too – as clearly some of it has been driven by the good weather during April and May."
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