Wall Street had high expectations for Nvidia's earnings, and the chipmaker delivered. Nvidia earnings, revenue and forward guidance all topped analyst expectations, sending shares higher by 5%. The move not only gave a lift to other semiconductor makers — AMD and Broadcom also rose — but sparked a sharp move higher in the broader stock market. As JPMorgan's trading desk noted: "This was a good, clean beat with delivery across every area of scrutiny … Most feedback I got (from my admittedly tech specialist-heavy investor base) sounded vindicated and very pleased." For now, the report eased concerns about a bubble forming in the artificial intelligence trade. While the Street is feeling vindicated — or breathing a sigh of relief — Nvidia's stock still has a long ways to recover. Thursday's early gain put Nvidia at around $196 per share. That means the stock needs to gain another 8% to reach its all-time intraday high of $212.19 from late October. NVDA 3M bar NVDA 3-mo chart On top of that, a strong earnings report has not been a guarantee of further gains this earnings season. Jefferies' trading desk pointed out that Alphabet (which touched an all-time Wednesday) is the only " Magnificent Seven " stock that's higher since reporting its third-quarter figures. In that time, shares are up 4%. By contrast, Apple , Microsoft and Meta Platforms are down. Amazon and Tesla did register solid gains right after releasing their results, but they are lower since then. Mizuho Securities TMT sector specialist Jordan Klein is also skeptical about fully jumping back on the AI bandwagon. "Despite really liking NVDA and what they said, I REMAIN A BIT SKEPTICAL that this print alone is that final key catalyst to silence all the skeptics and force shorts to fully cover," he wrote. "That seems way too easy and quick." "As good as things look from Jensen's perspective and order book, can he and NVDA really end the debate and worry over credit costs and funding issues for all these pending massive AI spending projects and investments?," Klein asked, referring to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. "Maybe for a day or two, but not forever."
