Earnings season is nearly over, with 92% of the S&P 500 SPX having reported results for fiscal quarters at the end of Thursday, according to FactSet.
The standout company among those yet to report is Nvidia Corp. NVDA, which is scheduled to announce quarterly results on Wednesday.
Nvidia’s stock has nearly tripled this year, as the company has continued to achieve astounding increases in sales and profits. Nvidia dominates the high-end market for graphics processing units (GPUs) being installed by data centers to support the development of generative artificial-intelligence technology.
The consensus among analysts polled by FactSet is for Nvidia to report quarterly sales of $33.086 billion, up 10% from the previous quarter and up 83% from the year-earlier quarter. Believe it or not, the company’s sequential and year-over-year sales-growth rates had already declined last quarter. Here is a look at the company’s sales-growth rates, with projections for the current quarter and then the reported numbers for eight previous quarters:
|
Fiscal quarter ended |
Sales ($mil) |
Sequential change |
Year-over-year change |
|
Oct. 2024 (estimated) |
$33,086 |
10% |
83% |
|
July 2024 |
$30,040 |
15% |
122% |
|
April 2024 |
$26,044 |
18% |
262% |
|
Jan. 2024 |
$22,103 |
22% |
265% |
|
Oct. 2023 |
$18,120 |
34% |
206% |
|
July 2023 |
$13,507 |
88% |
101% |
|
April 2023 |
$7,192 |
19% |
-13% |
|
Jan. 2023 |
$6,051 |
2% |
-21% |
|
Oct. 2022 |
$5,931 |
-12% |
-17% |
Now let’s do the same exercise for earnings per share, adjusted by FactSet for Nvidia’s stock split in June:
|
Fiscal quarter ended |
Earnings per share |
Sequential change |
Year-over-year change |
|
Oct. 2024 (estimated) |
$0.75 |
12% |
101% |
|
July 2024 |
$0.67 |
12% |
170% |
|
April 2024 |
$0.60 |
21% |
629% |
|
Jan. 2024 |
$0.49 |
33% |
764% |
|
Oct. 2023 |
$0.37 |
50% |
1,263% |
|
July 2023 |
$0.25 |
202% |
849% |
|
April 2023 |
$0.08 |
44% |
29% |
|
Jan. 2023 |
$0.06 |
110% |
-52% |
|
Oct. 2022 |
$0.03 |
4% |
-72% |
The expected growth rates for the October quarter are still impressive, but analysts expect Nvidia’s growth pace to slow down.
That said, an analysis of stocks in the S&P 500 shows Nvidia is still expected to be one of the fastest revenue growers through calendar 2026 .
Previewing Nvidia’s earnings report
MarketWatch’s Emily Bary covered the run-up to Nvidia’s quarterly financial report next week:
A stock-market warning — and one for Nvidia
Tom DeMark, a veteran market analyst, believes that the U.S. stock market is nearing a top, with a technical analysis showing parallels to conditions preceding the market crash in 1929. In an email to MarketWatch, he also said that Nvidia was nearing a point where another record high for the stock could trigger a selloff .
More market warnings:
Thoughts on Trump’s cabinet choices
President-elect Donald Trump ruffled feathers this week with some of his choices for cabinet positions. Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy might seem unlikely to be confirmed in this role by the Senate, but his opinions about vaccines and GLP-1 weight-loss medications pressured share prices for Moderna Inc. MRNA, Pfizer Inc. PFE and Eli Lilly & Co. LLY on Thursday.
MarketWatch’s Ciara Linnane looked into the potential rattling of healthcare markets in light of Kennedy’s nomination .
Another healthcare concern : Surging diabetes rate underscores vast opportunity in weight-loss drugs
More analysis and reaction as Trump makes his choices:
How might Trump’s bitcoin rally spread to other virtual currencies?
Early on Friday, bitcoin BTCUSD was trading at $89,845 — up 34% from Nov. 4, the day before Trump was elected to a second term as president.
For this week’s Distributed Ledger newsletter, MarketWatch’s Frances Yue interviewed Martin Leinweber, director of digital-asset research and strategy at MarketVector Indexes, who explained how exchange-traded funds might gain approval to invest in more virtual currencies under the second Trump administration .
More: NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. took his 2021 salary in bitcoin. Here’s how much it is worth now.
Also: I was invited to join a VIP investment club. It promoted bitcoin and other crypto — that’s when the trouble started.
Don’t buy too much car
MarketWatch’s Venessa Wong took a look at a critical factor holding people back from building wealth: their car payments . She also surveyed the landscape for car prices, and found there is hope for people who can avoid the temptation of the fanciest models being pushed by dealers — in fact, a used car may be best.
Here’s a fascinating way to do something about the housing shortage
Aarthi Swaminathan covers the residential real-estate market for MarketWatch. This week, she explained how owners of homes in areas with high demand and low supply for housing can build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs .
I’m 67, married and have two mortgages worth $660,000. Should I use my 401(k) to pay them off?
More housing coverage:
How Trump can easily take over banking regulation
Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that he would not be leaving his position until the end of his second term in January 2026. But there are moves Trump can make after taking office in January to gain control over the supervision of banks by federal regulators .
Related: 11 bank stocks trading at low valuations, even after Trump bump
Advice from the Moneyist
This week, Quentin Fottrell — the Moneyist — helped MarketWatch readers with a variety of financial questions and quandaries: