NVDA Q2 Guidance of $91B Clears Consensus by $5B-$7B, AMD Gains 8%

Nvidia's earnings Thursday night delivered the kind of quarter that would shock most companies into fresh valuations. The firm posted $81.6B in revenue, up 85% year-over-year, and data center sales reached $75.2B, up 92% YoY. Most critically, Q2 guidanceCompany-issued forecasts of future financial performance. of $91B crushed expectations of $84-86B, signaling relentless demand from cloud giants despite weeks of market skepticism.

Three weeks ago, every major hyperscaler raised AI capex guidanceCompany-issued forecasts of future financial performance.: Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon all signaled bigger GPU spend. Wall Street's bear case pivoted instantly: if spending was rising, why wasn't it showing on Nvidia's books? That anxiety evaporated Thursday. The company announced $80B in new share buybacks and a massive dividend, underlining management confidence in Blackwell's trajectory and the durability of the AI capex cycle.

The broader semiconductor sector responded with enthusiasm. AMD climbed 8% on the back of the Nvidia print. Broadcom, Arm, and other AI-adjacent chip plays rallied hard Friday morning, signaling that breadth may finally be rotating beyond NVIDIA itself. This matters because concentration risk in mega-cap tech has been a persistent drag on the S&P 500's overall health; a widening beat across the chip complex could ease that structural pressure.

But the narrative carries skeptics. Some analysts note that a $91B quarterly run rate, while stunning, is now the baseline expectation. Any miss or guidanceCompany-issued forecasts of future financial performance. retreat will be treated harshly. Margin pressures from rising input costs, competition from custom silicon, and China export restrictions remain live risks that could compress upside in coming quarters.