EARNINGS PRIMER: NVIDIA (NVDA) earnings due 26th August at 21:20BST/16:20EDT

NVIDIA (NVDA) Q2 2027 (USD): EPS (exp. 2.09), Revenue (exp. 92.18bln), Next Qtr. EPS (exp. 2.37), Next Qtr. Rev. (exp. 103.9bln), Current FY EPS (exp. 9.02), Current FY Rev. (exp. 395.73bln), Next FY EPS (exp. 12.80), Next FY Rev. (exp. 569.99bln)

SUMMARY:

Numbers will be closely watched given Nvidia's clear leadership in AI and continued benefit from surging CapEx by tech giants. In its last earnings report, Nvidia guided next-quarter revenue to USD 91bln +/- 2%, so a small beat is already more or less baked in and an inline print would likely not move the needle on its own.
As desks note, participants and the market want a strong outlook for the next quarter, as that is where the debate over digestion and the durability of AI spending will be settled.
CEO Huang previously put the potential revenue from Blackwell and Vera Rubin by end-2027 at USD 1tln, so any update there will also be watched, along with whether demand is broadbased or concentrated among certain buyers.
Away from the headline numbers and guidance, margins will also be closely watched. A chunky top-line number combined with falling margins would likely raise questions over whether competition, mix or system costs are starting to bite, so desks argue that gross margin holding around 75% would make the company's valuation a far easier case to argue; Non-GAAP gross margin at 75% in Q1 FY27.
On the other side of the coin, China remains a concern and is not going away, while Trump and Xi are due to meet next month. In the most recent news, small batches of H200 chips have been allowed to enter mainland China, though it is not Nvidia's most advanced chip. The Information reported that Nvidia (NVDA) was plotting a China comeback with a new AI chip, but the company subsequently denied the report.
In addition, over the weekend Bloomberg reported that NVDA has told some of its largest customers that prices of servers containing AI chips are going to increase over 15% in many cases as memory chip costs skyrocket.
Into earnings, options implied move is 4.6%, and the wide consensus is the tech behemoth to have a beat and a raise.

EXPECTATIONS:

For Q2, adj. EPS is seen at USD 2.09 and revenue at USD 92.18bln. Data Center revenue seen at USD 85.3bln, +107.6% Y/Y, Gross Margins of 75% and Operating Margins of 66.3%.
For the next quarter, profit and revenue are projected at USD 2.37 and USD 103.9bln, respectively.
FY EPS is seen at USD 9.02 and revenue at USD 395.73bln.
Looking at the sell-side, Bank of America is modelling Q2 revenue of USD 94-95bln, with next-quarter revenue at USD 107-108bln.

SELL SIDE INTO EARNINGS:

Oppenheimer maintains Outperform and a PT of USD 265 and sees upside to quarterly numbers and the outlook, led by Blackwell Ultra.
Stifel reiterates 'Buy' and a PT of USD 282, expecting a beat and raise, which is the broad consensus.
KeyBanc maintains Overweight and expects strong results and guidance with ramping Rubin (R200) GPU shipments representing the key drivers of upside.
Cantor remarked Nvidia is top pick into results and staying on the offensive; added investors are underweight and when this stock starts moving, Cantor thinks it is going to move very, very fast, although Cantor struggles predicting the catalyst, but when it comes, it will come fast.
BMO initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and PT of USD 340.
UBS writes that because many of the debates around AI infrastructure spending, ROI and credit risk are out of NVDA's hands, it thinks the numbers are more important than the narrative and expects investors to gain greater confidence in a path to USD 15+ EPS in CY27 and USD 20 in CY28.

Large-cap AI bellwether prints have followed a well-worn pattern through this cycle: the quarterly beat matters less than the guide, and a modest top-line beat against a whisper number has repeatedly produced a sell-the-news reaction even on strong results. The case distinction worth drawing is between guidance that meets an elevated consensus and guidance that clears it, since positioning and options pricing typically embed a beat and raise, leaving asymmetric downside on anything merely inline. The margin line is the other established tell: episodes where revenue beat but gross margin slipped have tended to reframe the debate toward competition, mix and system costs rather than demand, and the market has historically punished that combination more than it rewarded the top line. Management's long-dated revenue pipeline claims and the cadence of new platform ramps have been the narrative swing factor in prior reports, with commentary on next-generation shipments often outweighing the printed quarter. The China exposure is the recurring wildcard; export control shifts have moved this name independently of fundamentals before, and any read-through into the scheduled US-China engagement adds a second, event-driven channel. Follow-ons that matter are the hyperscaler capex commentary on the call, supplier commentary on memory pricing, and how peer AI-linked names trade in sympathy, since this print has historically set the tone for the whole complex.