Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures pared early losses and edged higher on Thursday after AI chip firm Nvidia's largely in-line forecasts, while markets remained hopeful of upcoming interest rate cuts with economic data on tap later in the day.
Market Snapshot
At 07:50 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 266 points, or 0.65%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 18.5 points, or 0.33%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 74.75 points, or 0.38%.
Pre-Market Movers
Nvidia - Nvidia’s fiscal second-quarter adjusted earningsof 68 cents a share beat Wall Street estimates of 65 cents, and revenue of $30 billion more than doubled from a year earlier and topped forecasts of $28.7 billion. Gross margin in the period was 75.1%, up from 70.1% a year earlier but down from 78.4% in the first quarter. Nvidia issued a third-quarter revenue forecast range with $32.5 billion at the midpoint, which was above consensus of $31.7 billion. Nvidia also said it plans to ramp up production of its Blackwell chip in the fourth quarter and expects to ship “several billion dollars” in Blackwell revenue in that period. In addition, Nvidia’s board approved an additional $50 billion buyback of stock. The stock fell 3%.
Apple - Citi moved Apple above Nvidia and Arista Networks as its top AI pick heading into 2025. Citi holds a buy rating and $255 price target on shares, indicating 12.6% upside from Wednesday’s close. Apple shares advanced 1.7% in premarket trading.
Affirm - Affirm Holdings jumped 20% after the “buy now, pay later” company posted aloss in its fiscal fourth quarterthat was significantly narrower that expectations on revenue of $659.2 million, better than consensus of $603.7 million. Affirm also said it expected to “achieve operating income profitability on a GAAP basis in FQ4’25.”
Super Micro Computer - Super Micro Computer was down 4% in premarket trading, a day after the stock tumbled 19% following the server maker’s announcement that it would bedelaying its 10-K filing. Coming into Thursday, Super Micro shares have fallen 37% so far in August, putting the stock on track for the worst monthly percentage decline since August 2010, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
CrowdStrike - CrowdStrike topped Wall Street forecasts forsecond-quarter earnings and revenuedespite the cybersecurity company’s softwarecrashing millions of its customers’ computersjust two weeks before the quarter’s end. The company, however, reduced fiscal 2025 guidance following the global outage, saying its outlook includes an estimated $30 million reduction in previously expected subscription revenue for each of the two remaining quarters in the current fiscal year from its “customer commitment package.” Shares fell 2.1%.
Salesforce - Salesforce, the enterprise software company, reportedbetter-than-expected second-quarter earningsand revenue and the stock was up 5.1%. Profit margins also widened in the period. Salesforce raised its fiscal-year earnings outlook, saying it expects adjusted earnings of $10.03 to $10.11 a share, up from a prior range of $9.86 to $9.94 a share. The company also announced that its president and chief financial officer, Amy Weaver, will resign.
HP - HP Inc. posted fiscal third-quarter revenuethat beat expectations but adjusted profit of 83 cents a share was below estimates of 86 cents. The maker of personal computers and printers lowered the midpoint for fiscal-year earnings to $3.40 from $3.45 share. The stock declined 3%.
Okta - Okta declined 13.4% after the security software company topped fiscal second-quarter earnings estimates but issuedmixed guidance. The company said its outlook factors in a “challenging macro environment” and continue to “incorporate some conservatism as the company monitors potential impacts related to the October 2023 security incident.” Ahackerlast October used a stolen credential to access Okta’s support system.
Nutanix - Nutanix surged 16.2% after the cloud-computing company postedfourth-quarter adjusted earningsof 27 cents a share on revenue of $548 million, beating analysts’ forecasts for earnings of 20 cents a share on revenue of $537 million, and issued a revenue forecast for the current fiscal year ahead of estimates.
Pure Storage - Pure Storage dropped 13.7% even as the data storage company swung to a profit in the fiscal second quarter and said subscription services revenue rose 25% in the period to $361.2 million.
Dollar General - Dollar General fell 23.8% after the discount retailer postedfiscal second-quarter earnings and salesthat missed Wall Street expectations and slashed its fiscal-year guidance for earnings and same-store sales growth.
Best Buy - Best Buy rose 7.6% after second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.34 a share topped analysts’ estimates of $1.16. The company also raised earnings guidance for fiscal 2025.
NetApp - NetApp fell 4.6%. The provider of cloud storage and data-protection services reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.56 a share on revenue of $1.54 billion. Analysts had expected a profit of $1.45 a share on revenue of $1.53 billion.
Five Below - Five Below gained 7% in premarket trading Thursday after posting a better-than-feared Q2 earnings report. "Our second quarter results fell short of what we know this business is capable of delivering," noted interim CEO Ken Bull "Our response to the macro pressures of the last few years and the evolving consumer environment has required even greater execution, compelling and differentiated assortments and focus on the customer," he added.
BioCardia - Shares of BioCardia soared 123% in premarket trading Thursday following news the Food and Drug Administration has cleared to market the company's Morph DNA Steerable Introducer product family.
Market News
Nvidia Sales Forecast Fails to Meet Lofty Investor Expectations
Nvidia Corp. failed to live up to investor hopes with its latest results on Wednesday, delivering an underwhelming forecast and news of production snags with its much-awaited Blackwell chips.
The company’s quarterly report — the most anticipated part of the tech industry’s earnings season — met or beat analysts’ estimates on nearly every measure. But Nvidia investors have grown accustomed to blowout quarters, and the latest numbers didn’t qualify.
Third-quarter revenue will be about $32.5 billion, the company said. Though analysts had predicted $31.9 billion on average, estimates ranged as high as $37.9 billion.
Moreover, Nvidia’s next big cash cow — the new Blackwell processor lineup — has proven more challenging to manufacture than anticipated. The product is the next generation of the company’s dominant artificial intelligence processor, and fears of delays contributed to a stock decline. The shares had more than doubled this year through Wednesday’s close, following a gain of 239% in 2023.
Apple Orders over 10% More IPhones Than Last Year on AI Bet
Apple is betting that its first AI-equipped iPhones will be a hit, telling suppliers to prepare components and parts for some 88 million to 90 million smartphones, according to multiple sources familiar with the plan.
That is more than last year's initial component orders for around 80 million new iPhones.
Apple is preparing for sales of its first iPhone with Apple Intelligence, which includes generative AI features. The company has announced it will host its flagship product launch event on Sept. 9.