Yahoo Finance

This is Yahoo Finance. I'm executive editor, Brian Sozzi, and host of the Opening Bid podcast. The earnings event of the season is here. After the market closes today, Nvidia will report its first quarter results for fiscal year 2026. Wall Street is expecting the AI chip darling to post strong showings for both earnings and revenue. Analysts forecast that earnings per share, or better known as EPS, will come in at 88 cents, a 46% increase year over year. Revenue is expected to reach $43.3 billion, a 66% jump from the same quarter last year. These are some sizzling numbers, though less sizzling than Nvidia posted in 2024. Nvidia's earnings report is about more than just the company. It's a bellwether for the AI boom, which is showing some signs of a slowdown. For context, this time last year, Nvidia reported record quarterly revenue up 262% year over year, nearly four times the year over year growth expected this quarter. And after briefly becoming the world's most valuable company by market cap earlier this month, Nvidia shares are now slightly down year to date. The pullback reflects investor anxiety about the pace of AI adoption and whether Nvidia can maintain its explosive growth rates. On the Q1 earnings call last year, founder and CEO Jensen Wong said, quote, "The next industrial revolution has begun." Well, now we want to know where it's all headed. This earnings call isn't all about the numbers. It's about the narrative and tone Nvidia sets for the rest of the year. Here are the top three things you should be tuning into on Nvidia's earnings call tonight. First, pay close attention to comments about AI demand and data center growth. Nvidia's data center segment, driven by AI chips like the H100 and its Blackwell platform, accounts for the lion's share of its revenue. Analysts will be listening for signals about cloud providers and hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Namely, are they still placing large orders? Are there any hints of softening demand or delayed deployments? If so, it could rattle investor confidence in the AI infrastructure build out and Nvidia's stock. Second, pay attention to comments about Nvidia's gross profit margins, which are under pressure. Nvidia has been benefiting from premium pricing on its high performance chips. But with increasing competition from AMD and custom silicon efforts from big tech, margins may come under more pressure. Investors will want to know if Nvidia is maintaining its pricing power, or if it's beginning to feel cost compression, especially as it prepares for the high volume rollout of Blackwell chips. Third, pay attention to forward guidance. Investors want to know whether demand is still accelerating or beginning to plateau. Any hint of slowing revenue or capex from key customers could prompt a reassessment of Nvidia's valuation. On the flip side, a bullish forecast, especially tied to Blackwell adoption or new enterprise use cases, could reignite momentum. Also listen for updates on supply chain capacity, chip launch timelines, and geopolitical risks. Analysts may press CEO Jensen Wong on tighter US export controls, which led to a $5.5 billion loss related to restricted chip sales to China. We'll have full coverage of Nvidia's results after the market close and instant analysis of the earnings call right here on Yahoo Finance. Don't forget, this isn't just Nvidia's moment, it's a checkpoint for the AI trade. I'm Brian Sozzi. For more, check out the Opening Bid podcast. Thanks for watching.