Nvidia Earnings, Qualcomm & More: 20 Nov. Tech Highlights

The tech sector is in the spotlight this week, with key economic news and financial events emerging from the biggest names in the ever-evolving tech industry taking shape on the markets. 

From Nvidia (NVDA) to Qualcomm (QCOM), here are this week’s key big tech highlights:

NVDA: Wall Street’s Most Valuable Company Slides Despite Strong Earnings

AI leader Nvidia's earnings report was arguably one of the most highly anticipated releases of the season. With the company’s stock surging by 192% year to date, all eyes were on the earnings report released yesterday, Wednesday, 20 November.

What Did NVDA’s Earnings Reveal?

Wednesday’s earnings report revealed that, despite challenges such as a potentially impending lawsuit from the US Supreme Court over alleged market manipulation, concerns about the overheating issues of Nvidia’s popular Blackwell Artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and rising competition and uncertainties surrounding the future of AI, Nvidia reported better-than-expected results.

The key figures from the report are as follows:

• Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.81 vs. the expected $0.74.

• Revenue came in at $35.1 billion vs. the expected $33.2 billion. 

• Q4’s projected revenue, according to Nvidia, is $37.5 billion vs. the projected $37 billion by analysts. 

• Gaming revenue reached $3.3 billion vs. the projected $3 billion by analysts. 

So, given these rosy figures, why did this AI giant’s shares slide following the results?

Uncertainty Takes a Toll 

Following the results mentioned above, Nvidia’s stock price fell by about 3% (in extended trading on Wednesday).

It appears that the company’s Q4 gross margin outlook will be lower than last year’s despite expecting significant revenue growth driven by strong AI demand. 

This, in turn, may have raised concerns among traders and investors, driving the company’s stock lower on Wednesday.

What’s Next for Nvidia?

While Nvidia’s future may still be blurry, and while many may be bullish on this, others are bearish, it may be worth noting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s latest remarks to get a better sense of what might lie ahead. 

According to Huang, “the age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to Nvidia computing.” He also stated that “demand for Hopper and anticipation for Blackwell — in full production — are incredible as foundation model makers scale pretraining, post-training, and inference."

Interestingly, according to Nvidia’s CFO Colette Kress, “both Hopper and Blackwell systems have certain supply constraints, and the demand for Blackwell is expected to exceed supply for several quarters in fiscal 2026.” (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Still, only time will tell what lies ahead.

Qualcomm’s Latest Drops: Investor Day & Apple Shift

Semiconductor maker Qualcomm also made headlines on Wednesday, with its stock price dropping by about 6%. 

This decline followed the company’s first investor day event in three years, where Qualcomm presented new financial targets for its expanding non-smartphone businesses, including automotive and PCs. 

While the targets were ambitious, investors expressed caution due to concerns about competition and uncertainty regarding Qualcomm's ability to capture market share in these emerging fields. 

Additionally, the unpredictable pace of AI adoption in smartphones, along with Qualcomm’s continued reliance on the smartphone market amid Apple's (APPL) transition to in-house chip production (instead of Qualcomm’s chips), further contributed to investor unease.

Overall, Qualcomm's stock has underperformed this year compared to the broader semiconductor sector.

What’s Next for Qcom?

Qualcomm is targeting a $22 billion increase in annual revenue by 2029, focusing on chips for PCs, cars, and IoT, with its PC business alone aiming for $4 billion. 

Nonetheless, Qualcomm’s success may hinge on the growth of AI-powered devices, especially smartphones.

Traders will have to wait and see what lies ahead for this tech giant.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Nvidia and Qualcomm are navigating significant challenges in the semiconductor and AI sectors. 

While Nvidia posted strong earnings, its stock dropped due to concerns over lower gross margins and supply constraints. 

Qualcomm, on the other hand, is diversifying its business beyond smartphones but faces uncertainties due to Apple's transition and competition in emerging markets. 

Both companies’ futures may depend on the growth of AI and other technologies, and traders will need to keep an eye on any news or events that could shift the tech landscape.