Weekly Buzz: Why Nvidia’s earnings are a major market event

Few companies have earnings releases that move global markets the way Nvidia's do. Nvidia carries a US$5 trillion market cap and sits deep across the AI value chain. Investors read its results not as a verdict on one chipmaker, but as a check on the wider AI ecosystem.

What’s going on here?

Last week's report from Nvidia came in well ahead of expectations: revenue rose 85% from a year ago to US$81.6 billion. Yet the stock barely moved. Beating expectations had become the assumption, not the surprise.

Nvidia now sits at the centre of the AI ecosystem as a supplier, a customer, and an investor. Over the past 16 months, the company has committed roughly US$90 billion across more than 145 deals spanning cloud providers, infrastructure builders, and AI model developers. That footprint is why a single quarterly report carries this much weight. The numbers double as a read on how the rest of the AI supply chain is faring.

This quarter showed demand still accelerating. Nvidia's data centre business, which now contributes over 90% of revenue, grew 92% from a year ago to US$75.2 billion, ahead of consensus. Adjusted profit more than doubled to US$45.5 billion, and Nvidia lifted its guidance for next quarter to around US$91 billion.

What’s the takeaway?

When numbers this strong barely move the stock, it signals that investors aren't just trading on hype; they're pricing AI against delivered earnings and what its biggest spenders have already committed to.

The more durable signals lie beyond Nvidia alone. Hyperscalers have raised their combined 2026 capex commitments past US$700 billion, and industrial suppliers like Caterpillar and Siemens are booking orders into 2027 and 2028. Multi-year customer agreements and order books across power, networking, and infrastructure all point to a buildout cycle with real visibility, not a one-quarter spike.

(For a deeper dive, read our latest CIO Insights: Earnings season, brought to you by AI.)

In Other News: US and Japan bonds are sending strong signals

Two of the world's biggest bond markets are flashing similar signals. In the US, the 30-year Treasury yield briefly hit 5.2% this month, its highest level since 2007 after a market selloff. Investors are responding to a mix of inflation pressure and a US budget deficit on track to run close to US$2 trillion this year. Traders pricing in three interest rate cuts just a few months ago are now pricing in a potential hike instead.

Over in Japan, the 10-year government bond yield has climbed to 2.75%, pushing it above the Topix index's 2.3% dividend yield. It's the widest gap since the Bank of Japan's last rate-hike cycle in 2007. Investors now earn more from holding government debt than from owning Japanese stocks for dividends. Some strategists expect a rotation into bonds once volatility settles there, though others point to Japan's return to inflation and nominal growth as a tailwind for stocks.

The wider point: government bonds are competing for capital again. After years of paying little, they now offer real income, which changes how investors weigh them against everything else, including richly-valued stocks. The case for diversifying across both asset classes is stronger than it has been in years.

(For a curated set of ETFs that put bonds to work in your portfolio, see Flexible Portfolios.)

Data as of 28 May 2026. Past performance is not an indicator of future returns. 

These articles were written in collaboration with Finimize.