Nvidia Earnings Update · The Morning After

Wall Street Wanted More.
Jensen Delivered Plenty.

Nvidia delivered another monster quarter. Wall Street did what it always does — kicked the tires, found a scratch in the paint, and asked for a discount.

First They Sold It. Then Jensen Spoke.

The numbers were excellent, but the stock initially fell. Wall Street grabbed onto the one soft spot it could find: next quarter's profit margin came in a little below expectations.

Then Jensen started talking. Demand is still accelerating. Rubin production is ahead of schedule. Management even said revenue could grow roughly 70% in fiscal 2028. The stock quickly changed direction.

That back-and-forth was a good reminder that the first earnings reaction is not always the final answer. Nvidia did its job. Now the stock has to prove it.

The Good News — and the Scratch

The good news: Revenue beat. Earnings beat. Data-center beat. Guidance beat. Nvidia expects $108 billion next quarter without counting meaningful China data-center sales.

The scratch: Next quarter's gross margin is expected near 74%. Wall Street wanted about 74.8%. Memory is getting expensive, and Nvidia is spending heavily to lock up supply.

What matters now: Nvidia delivered the growth Wall Street wanted. Thursday will show whether investors are willing to pay for it — or whether they are still holding out for a better price.

Forget the First Move. Watch What Holds.

The opening may be wild. The better information will come after the first round of overnight orders and profit-taking clears out.

The Levels That Matter

• Above $220–$225: Buyers are in control. Get back and stay there, $230 comes into view.

• Around $208–$213: The line in the sand. Holding here says buyers are willing to defend.

• Below $205: Be careful. That could send Nvidia toward $201 and possibly the heavily watched $195 put area.

These are areas to watch, not promises. Nvidia has fooled plenty of traders by making the first earnings move look final.

The Rest of the AI Trade

AMD: Strong AI demand helps, but Nvidia is still miles ahead. AMD now has to prove it can take a bigger piece of the business.

AVGO / Broadcom: Nvidia confirmed that the big technology companies are still spending. That is good news for networking and custom chips.

MU / Micron: Expensive memory hurts Nvidia's margins, but it is exactly what a memory supplier wants to hear. Micron may get one of the biggest benefits from this report.

AI infrastructure: Power, cooling, networking and data-center stocks should move with Nvidia. If Nvidia cannot hold after numbers this strong, the most expensive AI names may take the hardest hit.

How to Trade a Morning Like This

Expect pullbacks and fast reversals while traders sort through the earnings report. The volatility crush can quickly drain value from short-dated options, even if the stock moves in the right direction.

Let Nvidia settle before making a move. A pullback while volatility is still elevated could offer better put premium — or a better price for anyone looking to buy the shares.

Sources: NVIDIA investor materials; AP; Reuters; WSJ; Axios; Kiplinger. Not investment advice.

CrowdStrike Earnings Update · Aug 26 After Close

CrowdStrike Crushed It — Now What?

CrowdStrike delivered the kind of earnings report the AI market desperately needed. Expectations were already high, but the company still managed to beat them, accelerate new business, and raise its outlook.

Why This Report Mattered

The most important number was the 51% jump in net-new annual recurring revenue. That tells us customers are not simply interested in CrowdStrike's AI-security story — they are spending real money on it.

AI is creating an enormous new security problem. Every new model, agent and automated system creates another possible opening for an attack. CrowdStrike is turning that risk into revenue by giving companies one platform to protect their devices, cloud systems, identities, and data.

That is what made this report different. CrowdStrike did not just talk about the future of AI. It showed that AI security is already becoming a serious moneymaker.

A Big Gap Is Not the Same as a Finished Move

CrowdStrike was up more than 10% after hours, exceeding the roughly 8.2% move the options market priced. Tomorrow begins with real tension: strong fundamentals vs. a big pile of overnight profit. A red candle after the open would not automatically mean rejection — the stock may just be digesting a move larger than options expected.

What Volatility May Look Like

The most constructive setup would be a gap that holds above the after-hours breakout area, followed by steady volume and higher lows. The warning sign would be an early spike that loses most of the gap and cannot recover it. Watch the first hour, not just the opening quote.

CrowdStrike has historically been capable of large earnings swings, and post-earnings implied-volatility crush will punish option buyers if the stock stalls even while the shares remain elevated.

For premium sellers, the volatility collapse can help — but a move beyond the expected range can overwhelm that benefit. The report removed the earnings uncertainty; it did not remove price risk.

How To Trade It Tomorrow

The best trade may be no trade during the opening rush. Give CrowdStrike 30–60 minutes to show whether buyers are defending the gap.

The Earnings Trade

Before earnings, the newsletter sold the October 16 $155 put while volatility was elevated. CrowdStrike is now sharply higher and volatility is coming out — exactly what this trade needed. Look to close around 70% of maximum profit and be out before expiration. If the earnings gap fails and the stock starts moving materially closer to $155, reassess it.

Which AI Stocks Could Feel It?

Cybersecurity (PANW, FTNT, S, ZS): The clearest positive read-through. CrowdStrike's acceleration supports expanding AI-security budgets. SentinelOne may react most sharply because investors compare its endpoint growth directly with CrowdStrike; Palo Alto and Zscaler may benefit from the broader platform message.

Cloud & Data (MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL, SNOW): Mildly positive, but indirect. More AI workloads mean more cloud-security demand. Microsoft is both beneficiary and competitor, so CrowdStrike's success also shows that customers will still buy best-of-breed security outside Microsoft's bundle.

AI Software (PLTR + agentic-AI): Positive for spending narrative — enterprises moving from experiments to real deployment. Security becomes another cost, however, so the read-through is better for adoption than for near-term margins.

Chips & Infrastructure (NVDA, AMD, AVGO): Only a secondary effect. CrowdStrike confirms the AI buildout is broadening, but says little about GPU demand or chip margins. These stocks will trade mainly on their own guidance and capital-spending expectations.

Sources: CrowdStrike fiscal Q2 2027 investor materials; Reuters; MarketWatch; EarningsWatcher. Not investment advice.

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