Can Nvidia's Platform Sustain Its Lead Without Its Founder?
On the day chief executive Jensen Huang resigned, $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ fell as much as approximately 14.35 per cent from the previous close before finishing down 4.34 per cent. The initial selling pressure eased, but the question facing investors remains: can its technology, customer relationships and profitability continue to support the investment case without its founder? Huang's departure does not suddenly make Nvidia's products uncompetitive, but it requires investors to reassess future execution. Whether near-term operations remain stable and what valuation investors are willing to pay are separate questions. Interim leadership is in place; the long-term arrangement is not The company confirmed that Huang had resigned as president,
Earnings support the rebound, but risks have not disappeared The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ rose 2.31 per cent on Wednesday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ gained 1.31 per cent. CoreWeave's post-earnings strength and the recovery in memory and optical-communications shares revived discussion of how much revenue AI expansion can generate. Reports about Nvidia's leadership after the close, however, renewed concerns about whether the rebound could last. The previous day's inflation pressure did not disappear as share prices rose. Strong demand, timely project delivery and the profit absorbed by financing costs remain separate questions for AI companies. Today's earnings will provide more o
AI Revenue Is Growing. How Much Reaches Shareholders?
Hotter inflation renews pressure on the rebound The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ fell 0.68 per cent on Tuesday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ declined 0.38 per cent. October US CPI rose 0.4 per cent month on month, above the market forecast of 0.3 per cent but below September's 0.6 per cent. Core CPI increased 0.3 per cent, exceeding the 0.2 per cent forecast and matching the previous month. Headline inflation slowed, but core inflation did not ease further, making disinflation a less convincing basis for extending the technology rebound. Interest-rate pressure can reduce the value investors place on distant profits and increase the burden on companies financing expansion. One CPI releas
The AI Rebound Is Becoming a Company-by-Company Test
Technology shares recovered without Nvidia joining in The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ gained 3.54 per cent on Monday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ rose 2.35 per cent. $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ advanced 13.26 per cent, while $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ fell 4.27 per cent. The opposite moves show why stronger AI demand alone cannot explain this rebound: specific deployments, governance and expectations also matter. Memory shares recovered too. Micron, Sandisk and SK hynix gained 6.25 per cent, 6.16 per cent and 5.53 per cent respectively. Investors were willing to buy selected hard
Technology shares rebounded without recovering their losses The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ rose 1.40 per cent last Friday, while the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ gained 0.31 per cent. AI hardware shares recovered from the previous session's sharp decline, but only part of the loss was reversed. The rebound alone does not establish that concerns about data-centre approvals, capital spending and financing costs have disappeared. US payrolls increased by 165,000 in October, above earlier expectations of roughly 60,000, while unemployment was 4.1 per cent. Resilient employment can ease recession concerns without providing a reason for interest rates to fall quickly. A lasting technology recovery
Election results sent money back to large technology platforms first
After Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, the $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ gained 0.96 per cent on Wednesday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ rose 1.64 per cent. $Microsoft(MSFT)$ advanced 6.73 per cent, $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ gained 6.10 per cent and $Apple(AAPL)$ rose 5.36 per cent as investors favoured large technology companies with stronger profit and cash flow. Semiconductors moved in the opposite direction. Micron fell 6.99 per cent, Sandisk lost 7.90 per cent, Nvidia declined 3.12 per cent and Ma
Risk appetite improved on election night without a broad market turn
The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ gained 0.61 per cent on Tuesday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ rose 0.35 per cent as technology shares recovered from the previous session's decline. Democrats recorded early progress in several important Senate races, but control of both chambers remained unresolved. The result could influence technology regulation, taxation, AI data-centre approvals and government spending, yet markets did not make a large bet on one political outcome. US-Iran negotiations also remained divided. Iran continued to link seven conditions to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and the US response had not closed the gap. WTI crude fell 1.56 per cent and Brent declined 1.82 per c
The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ fell 1.37 per cent on Monday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ declined 0.52 per cent. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are being contested in the US midterm election. A change in congressional control could alter expectations for taxation, technology regulation, AI data-centre approvals and government spending. The election was not the only reason technology shares fell. Oracle lost 8.78 per cent, AMD fell 7.59 per cent and Intel declined 8.97 per cent as investors continued to reduce exposure to companies associated with heavy AI investment. The result may shape the policy path, but companies still need to prove that investment can produce profit an
Technology de-risking put cash returns at the centre of the debate
The $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ fell 1.42 per cent on Thursday and the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ declined 0.30 per cent. $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ closed down 4.25 per cent and fell about another 7 per cent after its results. Microsoft slipped just 0.16 per cent, while Meta gained 1.96 per cent. Companies making large AI investments were no longer trading as one group. Amazon reported third-quarter revenue of $201.9 billion, up 12 per cent, and earnings of $1.89 a share. AWS revenue grew 39 per cent to $46.0 billion, while operating income rose 55 per cent to $17.8 billion. The issue was cash generation: trailing 12-month free cash flow s