NVIDIA Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript - February 25, 2026 (NVDA)

From Motley Fool Transcribing, Feb. 25:

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• President and Chief Executive Officer — Jensen Huang
• Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer — Colette Kress
• Vice President, Investor Relations — Toshiya Hari

TAKEAWAYS

• Total revenue -- $68 billion, up 73% year over year, with sequential acceleration from Q3.
• Data Center revenue -- $62 billion, up 75% year over year and 22% sequentially, fueled by demand for Blackwell and Blackwell Ultra systems.
• Annual Data Center revenue -- $194 billion, up 68% for the fiscal year; business scaled nearly 13x since 2023 emergence of ChatGPT.
• Networking revenue -- $11 billion for the quarter, over 3.5x year over year; full-year Networking exceeded $31 billion, up more than 10x versus fiscal 2021 (year of Mellanox acquisition).
• Sovereign AI revenue -- Over $30 billion for the year, more than tripling, primarily from Canada, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the UK.
• China segment -- While small amounts of H200 products for China received approval, no related revenue was generated, with continued uncertainty around future imports.
• Gaming revenue -- $3.7 billion, a 47% increase year over year, supported by Blackwell demand and improved supply.
• Professional Visualization revenue -- $1.3 billion, up 159% year over year and 74% sequentially, marking its first time above $1 billion.
• Automotive revenue -- $604 million, up 6% year over year, attributed to demand for self-driving solutions.
• Physical AI revenue contribution -- Physical AI added more than $6 billion in annual revenue.
• Free cash flow -- $35 billion in the quarter, totaling $97 billion for the year.
• Capital return -- $41 billion, or 43% of annual free cash flow, returned to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
• GAAP gross margin -- 75% in the quarter; non-GAAP gross margin at 75.2%, up sequentially as Blackwell ramped.
• Quarterly outlook -- Revenue projected at $78 billion (±2%), with GAAP gross margin at 74.9% (±50 bps) and non-GAAP gross margin at 75% (±50 bps); majority of growth expected from Data Center.
• Inventory -- Grew 8% sequentially; purchase commitments increased significantly to secure supply and address longer-term demand into 2027.
• Research & Development -- Annual R&D budget now approaching $20 billion, supporting generational architectural development and codesign innovation.
• Rubin platform launch -- Six new chips introduced, with Vera Rubin samples shipped and production shipments on track for the second half, promising 10x lower inference costs than Blackwell.
• Major partnerships -- Notable strategic collaboration includes a $10 billion investment in Anthropic, ongoing partnership expansion with OpenAI, and new agreement with Groq.

Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email pr@fool.com

RISKS

• Ongoing supply constraints for advanced architectures, with supply expected to remain tight despite increased inventory and purchase commitments.
• Uncertainty regarding future revenue from China, as approvals have not yet translated to recognized sales and regulatory conditions remain unresolved.
• Colette Kress noted, "we expect supply constraints to be the headwind to Gaming in Q1 and beyond."
• Competitive progress from China-based rivals with recent IPOs, raising potential for long-term disruption in the global AI industry structure.

SUMMARY

The call revealed outsized growth in Data Center and Networking revenue underpinned by expanded customer diversity, new product introductions, and a reinforced leadership strategy—particularly through the rapid adoption of Blackwell and the early momentum of Rubin platform pre-shipments. NVIDIA (NVDA +1.44%) asserted robust visibility into future demand, supported by sizable purchase commitments and strategic investments, including a $10 billion outlay in Anthropic and deepened OpenAI engagement. While record free cash flow enabled large-scale capital returns, management underscored continued discipline in balancing ecosystem investments with shareholder payouts. Guidance for the coming quarter points to further acceleration in Data Center, a stable gross margin profile, and the expectation of supply-driven headwinds particularly in Gaming, amid persistent regulatory and competitive uncertainties concerning China and global AI markets.

• Jensen Huang said, "compute equals revenues," highlighting the company view that AI infrastructure investment directly drives customer revenue and demand for NVIDIA technology.
• Meta and Anthropic are scaling with "millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs," underlining a market landscape shaped by rapid generative and agentic AI adoption.
• Spectrum X Ethernet and NVLink fabric recorded record demand as customers unify distributed data centers into "integrated gigascale AI factories."
• Physical AI use cases, spanning robotic fleets and automotive, signify a broadening revenue base, with robotaxi ride volumes described as "growing exponentially."
• NVIDIA’s software ecosystem, with CUDA’s reach to "one and a half million AI models on Hugging Face," underscores a strategic moat based on developer and model diversity.
• Management projects that, over the long term, the Sovereign AI segment will grow at least in line with AI infrastructure spending proportional to GDP, signaling secular opportunity beyond hyperscalers.
• Kress explained, "The single most important lever of our gross margins is actually delivering generational leads to our customers," linking future profitability to innovation velocity and product cycle execution.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• Blackwell architecture: NVIDIA’s latest data center GPU platform focused on high-performance AI and accelerated computing workloads.
• NVLink: NVIDIA’s high-speed, low-latency interconnect technology enabling multi-GPU scalability within accelerated data centers.
• Spectrum X Ethernet: A network switching platform designed for large-scale, AI-optimized data centers, supporting the integration and scaling of AI workloads.
• Sovereign AI: Refers to proprietary, country-specific AI infrastructure built to serve national technological and data requirements.
• Agentic AI: AI systems capable of autonomous, multi-step reasoning and task execution, supporting next-generation applications such as code generation and enterprise automation.
• InferenceX: An industry benchmarking suite for AI inference performance, referenced in the call regarding demonstrated architectural leadership.
• Hugging Face: A widely-used open platform/repository for hosting AI and machine learning models, supported by NVIDIA’s CUDA.
• CUDA: NVIDIA’s parallel computing platform and API that enables accelerated computing across a broad range of GPUs.
• Rubin platform: NVIDIA’s newly introduced full-stack AI computing solution, offering next-generation CPUs, GPUs, switches, and networking for enterprise and hyperscale deployment.
• MoE models: Mixture-of-Experts neural networks that allocate AI tasks to specialized sub-models for efficiency and scalability.
• Amdahl’s Law: A principle in computer architecture indicating the limitations of parallelization and the need for high single-threaded CPU performance, mentioned by Jensen Huang as part of product design strategy.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Toshiya Hari: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to NVIDIA Corporation's conference call for 2026. With me today from NVIDIA Corporation are Jensen Huang, president and chief executive officer, and Colette Kress, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Our call is being webcast live on NVIDIA Corporation's website at investors.nvidia.com. The content of today's call is NVIDIA Corporation's property. It cannot be reproduced or transcribed without our prior written consent. During this call, we may make forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties, and our actual results may differ materially.

For a discussion of factors that could affect our future financial results and business, please refer to the disclosure in today's earnings release, our most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the reports that we may file on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All our statements are made as of today, 02/25/2026, based on information currently available to us. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any such statements. During this call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures. You can find a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures in our CFO commentary, which is posted on our website. With that, let me turn the call over to Colette....

....MUCH MORE, including analyst Q&A 

Here's the company's slide deck, (17 page PDF) 

Earlier:

"Dow Jones Futures Fall; Nvidia Slashes Gains Despite Strong Earnings, Guidance" (NVDA)

"Dow Jones Futures Fall; Nvidia Slashes Gains Despite Strong Earnings, Guidance" (NVDA)

From Investor's Business Daily, February 25:

Dow Jones futures fell slightly overnight, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Nvidia (NVDA) reported strong accelerating earnings and growth and bullish guidance, but NVDA stock wavered.

FTAI Aviation (FTAI), Salesforce.com (CRM), Snowflake (SNOW) and Sterling Construction (STRL) were among the many notable other earnings reports.

The stock market rally saw tech-led gains Wednesday heading into Nvidia earnings, with the S&P 500 reclaiming key support.

The video embedded in the article reviews Wednesday's market action and analyzes Apple (AAPL), Globus Medical (GMED) and nVent Electric (NVT).

Dow Jones Futures Today 
Dow Jones futures fell 0.15% vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.3%. Nvidia stock is a Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq component, with CRM a Dow and S&P 500 member.

Remember that overnight action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.

Nvidia Earnings 
Nvidia earnings and revenue beat fiscal Q4 views, as it reported another quarter of accelerating growth for both. The AI chipmaker also guided higher on the current Q1.

NVDA stock edged higher in overnight action after initially jumping. Shares rose 1.4% to 195.63 in Wednesday's regular session, clearing a 194.49 early entry. The consolidation buy point is 212.19.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell slightly and Broadcom (AVGO) edged lower in late trade after the Nvidia rivals closed just below their 50-day lines. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), which makes Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom chips, lost a fraction in extended trade after setting a new high Wednesday.

The Nvidia earnings report is important for AI infrastructure firms broadly, from fiber-optic plays to heavy construction firms to energy producers. Many have rallied in recent days.

Other Key Earnings....

....MORE 

Here's Nvidia's press release:

NVIDIA Announces Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 

CFO commentary on Q4 and fiscal year 

In overnight trading the stock is down  41 cents (-0.21%)

A sign of the times: "A fourth major California wine company announces layoffs this year"

Lifted in toto from the San Francisco Chronicle, February 24: 

For the fourth time in 2026, a major California wine company has confirmed layoffs.

Jackson Family Wines, the sixth-largest U.S. wine company, permanently shuttered its Carneros Hill Winery, located in Sonoma’s Carneros wine region, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice filed with California authorities on February 12. The closure resulted in 13 layoffs. 

Sean Carroll, Jackson Family Wines’ director of communications, said Carneros Hill, which was previously owned by Buena Vista Winery, “served as overflow production capacity and was not tied to any specific brand.” The winery had “become underutilized,” he continued, “and we consolidated operations accordingly.” 

Best known for the best-selling Chardonnay brand Kendall-Jackson, the company produces 6 million cases of wine a year, according to Wine Business, and has 40 wine brands across the northern and southern hemispheres. More than 25 of those wineries are in California. 

The news comes less than a week after Gallo, the largest U.S. wine company, confirmed it was closing a massive Napa Valley production facility and cutting its workforce at four other locations, totaling 93 layoffs. Earlier this month, Foley Family Wines & Spirits closed its production facility for the historic Central Coast winery Chalone. In January, Constellation laid off more than 200 people at the historic Mission Bell Winery in Madera, and the Boisset Collection closed two Napa Valley tasting rooms. 

There have been signs of trouble for two other wine companies: Trinchero Family Wine & Spirits, the third-largest company, listed two of its top vineyards for sale. Treasury Wine Estates, the seventh-largest U.S. wine company, paused dividend payments following a large writedown on its U.S. businesses and a 17% drop in revenue over a half-year. 

San Francisco Chronicle front page 

Meanwhile, In Lebanon...

From Ground News:

Hezbollah Official Says Will Not Intervene in Event of ‘Limited’ U.S. Strikes on Iran 

• On Wednesday, an unnamed Hezbollah official told AFP the group would not intervene militarily in limited U.S. strikes on Iran but would treat attacks on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a red line.
• U.S. deployments of warships and jets have surged near Iran, with more than 250 American fighter jets in the region and twelve F-22 jets landing in Israel this week.
• Hezbollah warned its restraint has limits, with leader Naim Qassem calling the group defensive and noting it did not intervene in the 12-day war last June.
• Lebanese officials warn of a chain reaction as a U.S. strike on Iran could trigger Hezbollah retaliation against Israel and massive Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure, including Beirut's international airport.
• Bloomberg reported Iran has accelerated oil shipments, loading roughly 20 million barrels at Kharg Island between Feb. 15 and Feb. 20, while Samir Madani estimated exports this month could average 1.5 to 1.6 million barrels per day and a Feb. 22 image showed nine tankers....

....MUCH MORE 

"Saudi Arabia boosts oil output, exports for US attack on Iran contingency"

 From Ground News, February 25:

• On Feb 25, Saudi Arabia is increasing oil production and exports as a contingency in case a US strike on Iran disrupts Middle Eastern supplies, two sources said.
• With US-Iran tensions rising, planners cited risks to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump has said he is considering a strike on Iran and the United States military has assembled forces in recent weeks.
• Representatives from eight OPEC+ nations including Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates will convene on March 1st to consider modest April output increases of about 137,000 barrels per day.
• Saudi officials present the boost as reversible, designed to stabilize global oil prices and avert shortages near the Strait of Hormuz; the kingdom will dial back output later to stay within OPEC+ quotas if no disruption occurs.
• Despite forecasts of a supply glut this year, prices are up roughly 17% amid geopolitical and production disruptions as Saudi Arabia repeats its 2025 market interventions, two sources said. 

....MUCH MORE 

Meanwhile on Diego Garcia...

(don't tell P.M. Starmer) 

First up, via Guido Fawkes:

WATCH: Chagossian First Minister Misley Mandarin has - from the new settlement on the Chagos archipelago - given Donald Trump formal permission to strike Iran from Diego Garcia.

He says: "We, the people of the Chagos Islands, give our blessing for the United States to use the base at Diego Garcia for strikes against the Iranian regime – in defence of the Iranian people."

His full statement:

"Today, I stand not in exile, but on our own soil, as the democratically elected head of government of the Chagos Islands.

Let the world hear this clearly.

We are here.

We govern here.

And we decide what happens here.

For too long, decisions about Diego Garcia were made in distant capitals, without our voice, without our consent. That era is over.

Diego Garcia is not just a military base. It is a pillar of stability in the Indian Ocean. It protects trade routes, deters aggression, and helps preserve global security. These are dangerous times and so I must be absolutely clear ....

If the United States decides that action is needed to defend international order, then as the elected Government of these islands, we give our permission for the use of Diego Garcia in defence of peace, secured through strength.

Once again, to be clear …

We, the people of the Chagos Islands, give our blessing for the United States to use the base at Diego Garcia for strikes against the Iranian regime – in defence of the Iranian people.

This is our sovereign decision.

President Trump understands the strategic importance of this island. He understands that peace is preserved through strength, not hesitation.

To the President of the United States, I say this directly:

You have our partnership.

You have our co-operation.

You have our permission.

We hope this partnership will be mutual.

If our homeland stands as a shield for America and its allies, then America must stand as a shield for our people. We seek formal recognition of our government, binding guarantees of our right of return, and permanent protection of our indigenous lands.

The Chagos Islands will not be a bargaining chip. We will not be spoken for. And we will not be silent. We stand with those who defend stability. We stand with those who defend our common values. We stand with those who stand with us. God Bless the United States of America." 

🇮🇴WATCH: Chagossian First Minister Misley Mandarin has - from the new settlement on the Chagos archipelago - given Donald Trump formal permission to strike Iran from Diego Garcia.

He says: "We, the people of the Chagos Islands, give our blessing for the United States to use the… pic.twitter.com/3eKdeoVuZx

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) February 23, 2026

 

And a market-manipulation flashback:

ABOUT TO PUT ON A MASSIVE POSITION IN OIL AND EQUITY FUTURES THEN CALL IN AN ORDER FOR $15,000 WORTH OF PIZZA FROM THAT DOMINOS NEXT TO THE PENTAGON.

— INVESTMENT HULK (@INVESTMENTSHULK) June 17, 2025

Grid: "US offers largest ever energy loan with $26.5 billion to Southern Co"

From Reuters, February 25:

The U.S. Energy Department has offered a $26.54 billion loan to subsidiaries of Southern Co. to increase grid reliability, the largest ever such financing by its loan office, the department said on Wednesday.

The loans will save power customers in Georgia and Alabama more than $7 billion, the department said, without detailing how. Southern said last year it would freeze increases in power bills for several years.

 

The two roughly 30-year loans to Georgia Power and Alabama Power will help build or upgrade more than 16 gigawatts of power to the electrical grid, including 5 GW of new natural gas generation.

 

It will also help enlarge current nuclear plants, modernize hydropower plants, and develop battery energy storage systems and over 1,300 miles (2,092 km) of transmission and grid enhancement projects, the department said....

....MORE  

Transmission: "Central Ohio Set for Major Grid Expansion as PJM Approves 765-kV Lines"

We didn't get any further information on the immense Ohio natural gas power plant in last night's State of the Union message but as a possible consolation prize for the hyper-concentrated mini-portfolio we see this from Construction Review, February 17:

Central Ohio is poised for a major electricity upgrade as PJM Interconnection has approved a 300-mile, 765-kV transmission line. The project will strengthen the region’s grid, support rising power demand, and fuel ongoing economic growth in the Columbus area.

The initiative, developed through the joint venture Grid Growth Ventures, LLC — a partnership between Transource Energy, LLC (AEP + Evergy) and FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC — includes approximately 300 miles of new 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines and upgrades to multiple substations across central Ohio.

Powering Growth at Scale

Central Ohio is experiencing a surge in electricity demand driven by new data centers, manufacturing facilities, and increasing adoption of electric vehicles. The 765-kV lines will provide a reliable backbone for this growth:

A single 765-kV line can supply power to roughly two million homes — enough to serve the entire Columbus metropolitan area twice over....

Although the application to the system operator, PJM does not name the contractor that will actually string the lines we do know that one of the ultimate joint venture partners, American Electric Power, is comfortable with Quanta Services. From AEP, November 5, 2026:

American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) today announced long-term strategic agreements with Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE: PWR) designed to position AEP to execute on its announced $72 billion capital plan including delivery of high-voltage transmission, while enhancing supply chain resilience and expanding development capabilities to serve customers, including the rapidly growing data center market.

The collaboration includes a Cooperation and Commitment Agreement for transmission projects, and a Development Services Agreement for large transformer and breaker manufacturing. Together, these efforts position AEP and Quanta to deliver greater efficiency, constructability and certainty in meeting the energy needs of customers today and in the future.

Under the Cooperation and Commitment Agreement, AEP and Quanta will collaborate on the design, engineering, procurement and construction of 765 kV and other high-voltage transmission facilities. The partnership agreement combines AEP’s deep operational and development expertise, gained by being the first and the largest 765 kV operator in the United States, with Quanta’s proven track record of large-scale project execution as the most experienced 765 kV constructor in the United States, improving cost predictability, enhancing delivery certainty and providing a proven operational structure. AEP and Quanta will leverage the strength of this partnership to bring the benefits of 765 kV transmission to AEP's traditional operating footprint as well as surrounding markets....

....MUCH MORE 

Quanta Services stock is flat (up a few pennies) following yesterday's $19.10 jump, $568.43 last.

And though we got no clarity on GE Vernova's possible participation in the power plant the stock is up another  $9.06 (+1.03%) following yesterday's $48.03 pop, $888.79 last I saw.

Current Sovereign Wealth, Pension and Endowment Fund Structure May Not Be Fit For Purpose In An Era Of Rapid Innovation

From the Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing via SSRN, 19 Jan 2026:

The Asset Owner Gearbox: Why Investment Innovation Grinds and How to Make it Turn 

Abstract 
Asset owners, defined herein as pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and foundations, are facing transformative pressures as AI, automation, and other autonomous systems reshape market structure, investment access, information advantages, operating costs, and the distribution of economic rents. Yet most of these mission-driven institutions were not built for a world of rapid change. Many were optimized for defensibility and procedural prudence rather than adaptation, leaving them increasingly mis-specified for the opportunity set and risk environment ahead. This paper explains why innovation in asset ownership is both necessary and persistently slow. Drawing on five years of fieldwork (including 35 case studies with access to C-level leaders and more than 100 semi-structured interviews worldwide), we examine how innovation actually occurs inside asset owners and why it so often stalls. We introduce a "gearbox" model in which organizational identity drives asset allocation and, ultimately, implementation. When asset owners spin the allocation gear faster than organization and implementation can adapt, the gears grind: initiatives stall, learning is outsourced, and change becomes symbolic rather than durable. We conclude with a practical operating model for turning catalyst windows into durable innovation capabilities

....MORE (SSRN Download page) 

The first-named author of the paper, Dr. Ashby Monk, is both the Executive Director and the Research Director of the SLTI.

Ahead of the Spring Riot Season, Taser Maker Axon Beats Top and Bottom, Guides Much Higher, Stock Pops (AXON)

From Investor's Business Daily, February 24:

Axon Takes Aim At AI Fears, Targets $6 Billion In 2028 Sales  

Axon Enterprise blew away fourth-quarter estimates after Tuesday's close and set a target for more than doubling sales over the next three years. Axon stock, which lost half its value amid worry that AI will disrupt software vendors, surged after hours.

The maker of Tasers, body cameras, drones and software for law enforcement signaled confidence that it can keep deepening its relationship with law enforcement customers while seizing on its opportunity with enterprises. That tight relationship was reflected in net revenue retention rising to 125%, meaning there's little attrition and many customers are adding new products.

Axon Earnings

Results: Axon posted Q4 earnings per share of $2.15, up 3% from last year's big fourth quarter but 55 cents ahead of forecasts. Revenue grew 38.5% to $796.7 million, its best percentage gain in years and beating estimates by more than $40 million.

Software and services revenue grew 40% to $342.5 million. Taser revenue rose 32% to $264.2 million. Personal sensors, such as body cameras, rose 28% to $109.1 million. Platform solutions, which includes drones and counter-drone equipment, rose 81% to $80.9 million.

Annual bookings rose 46% to $7.4 billion, while future contracted bookings rose 43% to $14.4 billion, providing visibility.

Outlook: Axon said it expects 2026 revenue growth of 27% to 30% and a 25.5% adjusted margin for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

Axon set 2028 targets of $6 billion in revenue vs. $2.8 billion in 2025 and 28% adjusted EBITDA margins....

....MORE 

In late pre-market action the stock is up  $47.49 (+10.73%) at $490.00.

"Indian IT stocks lose $68.6 billion in February amid AI disruption fears"

From Reuters via The Hindu, February 25:

The Nifty IT index has plunged 21%, marking its steepest monthly fall in nearly 23 years, amid fears that rapid AI-led automation could disrupt India’s $300-billion IT services model 

Indian shares have lagged their Asian and emerging market peers so far in February, pressured by a $68.6 ​billion rout in the market value of information technology stocks, as investors fretted ‌over disruptions linked to artificial intelligence.

The Nifty 50 index has ​risen 0.4% so far this month, while the Sensex ⁠edged 0.1% lower, underperforming both the MSCI Asia ex-Japan and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.

The 10 Nifty IT constituents have lost a combined $68.6 billion in market ‌capitalisation in February, as of the last close, with the index down 21% and on course for its worst monthly ‌performance in nearly 23 years.

All 10 index members have ‌fallen ⁠between 16.8% and 27% in February to date. Coforge is ⁠the steepest percentage decliner, down 26.8%, while Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys have led the value erosion, losing about $21.9 billion and $16.3 billion in market value, respectively.

The selloff reflects ​growing concerns that rapidly ‌advancing automation tools could compress project timelines and disrupt the labour-intensive delivery model underpinning India's roughly $300-billion IT services industry.

Investors have zeroed in on the AI-driven automation push from U.S. firms such as Anthropic ‌and Palantir, heightening concerns over faster project execution, pricing pressure and reduced ​billable hours.

Brokerages warn the Indian IT sector could face further pressure if AI starts to eat into application ⁠services revenue, which typically accounts for 40% to 70% of total revenue for these companies.

"There are no easy answers to whether AI eventually renders IT ‌services obsolete over the long term," said analysts led by Abhishek Pathak of Motilal Oswal.

"The narrative that AI is coming for not just IT but large swathes of the economy could be too strong to shake, at least in the short term," Motilal Oswal analysts said....

....MORE 

Chips: "Samsung, SK Hynix Drive Korea Benchmark’s Breakthrough Past 6000"

From Bloomberg, February 24:

• South Korea’s equity benchmark, the Kospi Index, has advanced to a record, powered by surging global memory demand and the country’s biggest chipmakers.
• Korea’s stock market capitalization has moved past France’s, with the benchmark now up for 2026, and corporate governance reforms have helped fuel the rally.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, citing the ongoing memory crunch and sustained AI demand, with some forecasting the Kospi gauge to reach as high as 8,000 in the first half of the year.

South Korea’s equity benchmark has crossed a new milestone just a month after surpassing the once-unthinkable 5,000 mark, as surging global memory demand powers the country’s biggest chipmakers.

The Kospi Index advanced as much as 2.6% to a record 6,123 Wednesday, with Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. each gaining more than 2%. With the benchmark now up 45% for 2026, Korea’s stock market capitalization has also moved past

France’s, following last month’s overtaking of Germany’s.

Long overlooked by foreign funds despite being undervalued, Korean stocks have now emerged as clear winners in the global market. The so-called “AI scare trade” has proven a boon for the country, where software stocks play only a minor role and hardware manufacturers continue to drive the market higher. Corporate governance reforms have helped fuel the rally, with parliament 

to pass a bill later Wednesday requiring companies to cancel treasury shares.

The latest gain is part of a global tech rally following Meta Platforms Inc.’s deal to buy chips and computers from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to power AI models

“With the Kospi now at 6,000, upside from here is likely to be more incremental, and sustainability will depend on earnings delivery and a meaningful broadening beyond a handful of semiconductor heavyweights,” said Jung In Yun, chief executive officer at Fibonacci Asset Management Global. “Absent that, some consolidation or rotation across sectors wouldn’t be surprising.”....

....MUCH MORE 

"The Stock That Didn’t Get Crushed by the AI Doomsday Essay" (GEV)

From Al Root at Barron's, February 24: 

Key Points 

• Fears of AI’s economic impact, fueled by a Citrini Research essay, led to significant stock drops.
• GE Vernova, a power technology producer, bucked market trends, benefiting from rising electricity demand for AI data centers.
• High valuations, like GE Vernova’s 56 times expected earnings, present risks, and AI’s long-term economic impact remains uncertain. 

Even the most fearful people on Wall Street still see stocks that offer shelter as worry about artificial intelligence sends large chunks of the market tumbling.

Monday was a tough day for the stock market. IBM dropped 13%, while Uber Technologies and DoorDash shares fell 4% and 7%, respectively.

The State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF fell 5% and the Global X FinTech ETF fell 4%. Those losses left those two ETFs down 23% and 27%, respectively, over the past 12 months.

One factor hitting the stocks on Monday was  an essay from Citrini Research, published on Sunday, that imagines a future in which AI devastates the economy. It reads a little like the outline of a dystopian science-fiction novel in which AI comes for everyone’s job.

No knowledge-based industry is spared. Debt that might go unpaid by software or financial technology companies brings on a financial crisis like the one the world struggled through in 2008 and 2009.

The prospect of high economic growth via AI productivity gains, along with high unemployment, isn’t exactly a new idea. Anthropic CEO Darrio Amodei has warned about it in the past, and it was concern about an Anthropic product that sent IBM down on Monday.

Still, the essay seems to have captured Wall Street’s imagination, touching on investors’ fear about the effects of AI. Most of the many stocks it mentioned tanked on Monday.

GE Vernova was an exception. As a producer of power technology, Vernova is in position to help meet the rising demand for electricity linked to power-hungry AI data centers.

“The equity market still cared less about [jobs data] than it did the news that all of GE Vernova’s turbine capacity was now sold out until 2040,” reads the essay. Its stock “ambled sideways in a tug of war between negative macro news [and] positive AI infrastructure headlines.”

AI needs hardware to function, which is why GE Vernova shares didn’t drop with the rest of the market.

GE Vernova isn’t the only hardware stock that benefits from the AI buildout. There are dozens that make everything from chips to chip-making machines to servers to connectivity equipment. The list includes Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, ASML, Eaton, Vertiv, Amphenol, and  TE Connectivity....

....MUCH MORE 

That 'key points' intro is reminiscent of another analyst, Jim Morrison: 

The future's uncertain and the end is always near.

Mr. Morrison's response was to have a beer.

Mine will be to point out that GEV is up $42.88 (+5.16%) at $874.58.

And just for grins and giggles, PWR is up $15.48 (+2.82%) to $564.59.

Ahead of Tonight's State Of The Union: Hoping For Clarity On The Gigantic Gas-Fired Electrical Generation Plant

Everything other than the fact it is Japanese money funding the beast and a Japanese company (SB Energy  sub. of SoftBank) overseeing the project and Japanese companies expressing interest in developing same, a mention of American corporate participation could be rocket fuel for a couple of our favorite names.

First up, Barron's last week, with the overview: 

February 20

A Gargantuan Natural Gas Plant Is Planned for Ohio. These Stocks Could Benefit. 

A deal announced this week between the U.S. and Japan could help fund the largest power plant ever built in America, and benefit companies that drill and transport natural gas in the region. Japanese companies could also be winners.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday plans for a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas plant in Ohio, which is expected to receive funding from the Japanese government.

The plant would be more than twice as large as the biggest existing natural gas plant in America and could produce enough electricity to serve more than five million people. The total cost could come to $33 billion, according to the Commerce Department and the Japanese government.

The Commerce Department didn’t respond to a request for details on the funding or the timeline for construction. Most conventional natural gas plants have less than 1 gigawatt of capacity and take at least five years to build.

There is a good chance the power plant will be used for other purposes beyond residential electricity, given there are few major population centers nearby.

The plant is being developed by SB Energy, which is backed by Japanese technology company Softbank. A fact sheet from the Japanese government says the plant will be used “to supply electricity to AI data centers, etc.” Softbank has several data center projects under way in the U.S., including one in Lordstown, Ohio, that is expected to be completed this year and is part of its Stargate project with OpenAI.

The natural gas plant will be located in the southern Ohio town of Portsmouth. The area is rich in natural gas from deposits known as the Marcellus and Utica shale. Some of the producers and pipeline companies that operate there could be in good shape to profit off the project.

Two of the largest producers in the area are and Expand Energy, says Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital.

Thummel also expects the plant to benefit companies that own nearby pipelines, including TC Energy and Enbridge.

Japanese companies should benefit, too....

....MORE 

9.2 gigwatts would make it the second largest electrical plant of it's type in the world. 

Both Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi manufacture utility-scale natural gas turbine generators but if there is room for an American company it would have to be GE Vernova.

Plus transformers and transmission lines and Quanta Services is the go-to.  

"Out of nowhere, Canada became poorer than Alabama. How is that possible?"

From Toronto's Globe and Mail, February 20:

Out of nowhere, Canada became poorer than Alabama. How is that possible? https://t.co/2qUA7SyB3t

— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) February 20, 2026

How Canada became poorer than Alabama
For an overdue wake-up call, The Globe travelled to the Deep South to understand how the state is breaking stereotypes and, at times, looking richer than Canada 

In December, Tommy Battle’s dream came true. The five-term Mayor of Huntsville is Alabama to the bone, born in Birmingham and a graduate of the state university in Tuscaloosa, but for the past 18 years he’s tried to distance his city from the state’s unsavoury stereotypes.

Huntsville, in the north, is the home of the Saturn rocket program that took on the Soviet Union’s Sputnik. It houses the second-largest biotech research park in the United States. And it has attracted high-end manufacturing investments such as Blue Origin’s rocket engine plant.

But Alabama tropes are hard to shake: The state is backward and full of bible thumpers and bigots – allegedly. When local companies try to hire from afar, Mayor Battle says recruits often hear the same responses when telling their spouses: “‘Huntsville?’ With one question mark. Then they say, ‘Alabama???’ With three question marks.”

Translation: You’ve got to be kidding me.

But in December, Huntsville had the last laugh. Eli Lilly and Co. was looking to build a US$6-billion manufacturing plant that would create 3,000 construction jobs and employ 450 engineers, scientists, lab technicians and operations staff. After narrowing down the field of 300 bidders, the pharmaceutical giant named Huntsville a winner, one of four new facilities in the U.S. It’s the state’s largest-ever private industrial investment, and it personifies the tagline the Mayor has preached: “Huntsville: a smart place.”

For eons, Canadians have viewed Alabama as a small state that, save for a few pockets, is dirt poor. All anybody seems to know about Alabama is that Montgomery and Birmingham were the centre of the civil rights movement. In 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he called Birmingham “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.”

So, it was a shock when Canadian economist Trevor Tombe and the International Monetary Fund ran the numbers in 2023 and 2024 and concluded that Canada had, in fact, become poorer than Alabama....

....MUCH MORE 

Don't mention the hockey. 

ICYMI: "IBM Sinks Most Since 2000 as Anthropic Touts Cobol Tool"

From Bloomberg, February 23:

International Business Machines Corp. shares had their worst day in more than 25 years on Monday, after AI startup Anthropic PBC said its Claude Code tool can help modernize Cobol, a dated programming language that’s run on IBM computers.

The stock plunged 13% in its biggest single-day percentage loss since October 2000. With the decline, IBM shares have fallen 27% in February, on track for its biggest one-month slide since at least 1968, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Modernizing a Cobol system once required armies of consultants spending years mapping workflows,” Anthropic wrote in a blog post. “Tools like Claude Code can automate the exploration and analysis phases that consume most of the effort in Cobol modernization.”

IBM defended the company’s prospects saying its core mainframe computer business offers a platform that provides the same quality of performance and security for various programming languages and not just Cobol.

“The value IBM mainframe delivers has nothing to do with Cobol,” IBM Senior Vice President Rob Thomas wrote in a blog post on Monday. “Whether the application is written in Cobol, Java, or any other language, the platform provides the same guarantees. The language is not the source of that value. The platform is.”

Most of the mainframe computers that run Cobol are made by IBM, and the selloff made the company the latest to see heavy pressure on the fear that artificial intelligence will weigh on the growth prospects of legacy companies.

A significant chunk of IBM’s revenue remains tied to its mainframe business. These massive customer-owned servers run some applications on Cobol, a coding language that’s older than those now common in the rest of the technology industry. Mainframes are still purchased by customers with high reliability needs, such as those in finance or government.

On Friday, Anthropic introduced a new security feature into its Claude AI model, spurring widespread selling of cybersecurity stocks. Software stocks have been broadly weaker this year on concerns over AI-related disruption; a major software ETF is down 27% this year, on track for its biggest one-quarter drop since the financial crisis in 2008.....

....MUCH MORE 

If interested see "What is COBOL and Who Still Uses It?" at CBT Nuggets:

Many COBOL developers are nearing retirement age, and younger coders are less likely to learn it. This means that when problems arise, many companies no longer have a COBOL expert on hand. But it’s still used extensively: more than 95% of ATM swipes and 43% of banking systems are written in COBOL. Experts estimate that COBOL systems support more than $3 trillion in daily commerce through transaction processing.... 

....MUCH MORE 

Now do Fortran. 

Capital Markets: "Yen Slides on a Double Whammy"

From Marc Chandler at Bannockburn Global Forex:

The US dollar is mostly slightly firmer against the most of the G10 currencies but largely confined to its recent ranges. The yen is the notable exception. Beijing announced it is sanctioning more Japanese companies with military ties and put others on a watch-list, which no doubt will have a cooling effect. At the same time, recent data shows many Chinese tourists are not visiting Japan. At the same time, a Japanese paper reporter that Prime Minister Takaichi was more strident in resisting tighter monetary policy in a recent meeting with BOJ Governor Ueda. The odds of an April hike were reduced from about 69% before the weekend to slightly less than 60% today, the least since mid-January.

The market continues to try to sort out the implications of last week’s Supreme Court decision and President Trump’s new tactic. Today’s Fed surveys, Conference Board’s consumer confidence, and house prices seem to a distraction from the market’s drivers. Half of a dozen Fed officials speak today but there is little doubt that barring a significant shock, the Fed is on hold through midyear at least. President Trump delivers his State of the Union address late today....

....MUCH MORE 

SEC: "Number Go Down and Other Schadenfreude"

Our introduction to a June 2025 speech from one of the speakers, S.E.C. Commissioner Hester Peirce:  

    Commissioner Peirce is a bit of a wild child and more willing than most commissioners, past and present, to experiment in the areas of market structure and securities regulation.

    Here she addresses the Investment Company Act of 1940... 

I believe that is the only time I have described a Commissioner as a 'wild child." 

From the Securities and Exchange Commission, Feb. 18, 2026:

Paul S. Atkins, Chairman

Commissioner Hester M. Peirce

ETHDenver

Denver, CO

Commissioner Peirce: I am honored to be on stage today with Chairman Paul Atkins. Before we begin, let me remind you that my statements and his are our own in our official capacities and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or our fellow Commissioner. Chairman Atkins needs little introduction, but let me give you a brief bio for him.

Paul S. Atkins was sworn into office as the 34th Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 21 of last year. Prior to returning to the SEC, Chairman Atkins was most recently chief executive of Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm he founded in 2009. Chairman Atkins previously served as a Commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure, he advocated for transparency, consistency, and the use of cost-benefit analysis at the agency. Chairman Atkins began his career as a lawyer in New York, focusing on a wide range of corporate transactions for U.S. and foreign clients, including public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He was resident for 2½ years in his firm’s Paris office and admitted as conseil juridique in France. A member of the New York and Florida bars, Chairman Atkins received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and his A.B., Phi Beta Kappa, from Wofford College in 1980. Originally from Lillington, North Carolina, Chairman Atkins grew up in Tampa, Florida. He and his wife Sarah have three sons.

One other interesting fact about Chairman Atkins is that he speaks German and French fluently. He likely is looking for another language to add to his repertoire. Mr. Chairman, have you considered learning Solidity?

Chairman Atkins: No need. Vibe coding works just fine. It is a big step up from the BASIC-PLUS and COBOL I used in college.

Commissioner Peirce: Fair point, Mr. Chairman, but if the smart contract your AI writes starts saying everything is a security, we’ll suspect AI hallucination. A few years ago, if someone had told me that I would be standing at a crypto conference with the Chairman of the SEC, I would have thought that person was hallucinating. But we’re here, so let’s get to some substance. During the past year, the SEC under the leadership of Chairman Atkins and Acting Chairman Uyeda in the early part of the year has taken a lot of steps toward crypto clarity. We have:

• Sought and received written responses to multiple sets of difficult questions covering a wide range of crypto topics;
• Held several in-depth roundtables on discrete topics including the definition of a security, trading, custody, tokenization, DeFi, and privacy;
• Met with many developers and builders in Washington D.C., virtually, and in crypto-on-the-road meetings in cities across the country;
• Provided technical assistance to Congress as it works on crypto legislation;
• Launched a new initiative with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to build a lasting basis for coordination and cooperation in regulating areas of joint interest, including crypto;
• Ended regulation by enforcement;
• Issued multiple staff guidance documents and frequently asked questions to help people understand what the SEC staff thinks is and is not within the SEC’s jurisdiction (including on issues like mining, staking, meme coins, and stable coins), and how regulated entities engaging with crypto can comply with our existing rules;
• Got rid of unhelpful staff guidance, such as SAB 121;
• Published a staff statement on the custody of crypto asset securities by broker-dealers;
• Issued a cross-divisional staff statement outlining a taxonomy for tokenized securities;
• Approved exchange generic listing standards for crypto ETPs;
• Issued staff no-action letters to several projects, including on tokenization and DePIN; and
• Began the process of designing rules, exemptive relief, and Commission interpretations, which will help to form the basis for a durable regulatory framework.

Mr. Chairman, can you give us a preview of what to expect this year on the crypto regulatory front?....

....MUCH MORE 

Also from the Commissioner, July 9, 2025:

SEC Commissioner Peirce: "Enchanting, but Not Magical: A Statement on the Tokenization of Securities"

Trendspotting: "The rich are buying art again. Bank of America wants to cash in"

The marketeers are always alert to the main chance. Always.

From Financial News London, February 23:

The US bank launched an art consulting practice for its private banking clients on 18 February

The world’s rich are looking to pass down their art collections. For private bankers, that could be a big opportunity.

Bank of America is looking to capitalise on a strong upturn in the art market, driven by a massive intergenerational wealth transfer and growing interest in art from younger buyers.

With Deloitte estimating that $992bn in art and collectibles are expected to transfer over the next decade, the US bank launched an art consulting practice for its private banking clients on 18 February.

“We’re going to see a lot of art changing hands,” Bank of America’s head of art services Drew Watson told Financial News. “Some of that art is going to be inherited; some collections will be repositioned, with works being sold and other works being bought.”

The launch of the new wealth service comes amid rising enthusiasm for art among younger generations. Bank of America’s 2024 private bank study of wealthy Americans found that while 40% of the wealthy own or are interested in art, that figure rises to 83% for millennials and Generation Z.

A shift to a buyers’ market after some four years of constricted supply is fuelling optimism, too. Bank of America’s research suggests 80% of collectors plan to purchase a valuable work this year, while only about a third plan to sell.

Rate cuts in the second half of 2025 have also spurred an art market growth cycle. Improved collector sentiment and high-quality supply from single-owner collections led to “outperformance” at high-profile New York art auctions in November 2025, Watson said....

....MUCH MORE 

"Bloomberg embeds agentic AI into the Terminal"

 From The Trade, February 23:

New conversational AI interface – ASKB - aims to accelerate investment research and streamline trader workflows by integrating agentic AI directly into the Bloomberg Terminal. 

Bloomberg has launched ASKB, a new conversational artificial intelligence interface for the Bloomberg Terminal, designed to help traders and investment professionals analyse markets, generate insights and act on information more quickly. 

Currently in beta, ASKB allows users to query companies, markets and investment themes using natural language, drawing simultaneously from Bloomberg’s structured datasets, news, research and analytics.  

Specifically, ASKB will allow users to move away from traditional command-based navigation across multiple Terminal functions by allowing complex analytical queries to be completed through a single conversational interface....

....MUCH MORE  

"Lamborghini scraps electric car plans in favour of hybrids"

From The Times (Londinium), February 21:

Lanzador bites the dust as CEO Stephan Winkelmann says EVs risk becoming an ‘expensive hobby’ for the company

Lamborghini, the supercar maker, has pulled the plug on plans to build electric vehicles (EVs) in the face of collapsing demand among its well-heeled customers.

Chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said EV development risked becoming “an expensive hobby” for the Italian company as he confirmed that a forthcoming all-electric car, named in 2023 as the Lanzador, will no longer join its line-up.

Instead it will be replaced by a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), meaning that by 2030, the company’s range will all be PHEV, said Winkelmann. Lamborghini would continue to build internal combustion engines (ICE) “for as long as possible”, he added.

Winkelmann told The Sunday Times that the “acceptance curve” for battery-powered cars in Lamborghini’s target market was flattening and “close to zero”.

The company’s customers, he said, valued the “emotional experience” of their Lamborghinis — whether design, raw performance or, crucially, the distinctive sound and feedback of the internal combustion engine.

“EVs, in their current form, struggle to deliver this specific emotional connection,” he explained, confirming that noise — or lack of it, remains a crucial selling point in the luxury car market.

Winkelmann had been agonising over cancelling the Lanzador, the company’s fourth EV project, since the start of 2025, but finally killed it off in secret late last year.

“The decision was made after over a year of continuous internal discussion, engaging with customers, dealers, market analysis and global data,” he said.

“Investing heavily in full-EV development when the market and customer base are not ready would be an expensive hobby, and financially irresponsible towards shareholders, customers [and] to our employees and their families.

“Plug-in hybrids offer the best of both worlds, combining the agility and low-rev boost of electric battery technology with the emotion and power output of an internal combustion engine,” said Winkelmann.

Lamborghini is owned by Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group. Its current line-up includes the Urus SUV, priced at about £200,000; the £265,000 Temerario sports car; and the £450,000 Revuelto super sports car. All are PHEVs.... 

....MUCH MORE

Also at The Times:

Bentley boss: EV take-up is too slow. Our next car is petrol  

"India's technology sector to expand 6% to $315 billion in fiscal 2026, industry body says"

From Reuters, February 23/24: 

India's technology sector is expected to grow 6.1% to $315 billion revenue in the ongoing fiscal year and remain around that level next fiscal, driven by artificial intelligence-led services as well as business at global capacity centres, an industry body said on Tuesday.
Nasscom raised last fiscal year's revenue for the sector to $297 billion from $283 billion earlier.

The prediction comes as IT and software services industry has been facing a double whammy of tepid demand and threat of disruption from advanced AI tools. A selloff in Indian IT stocks earlier this month wiped out about $44 billion in market capitalisation....

....MUCH MORE 

Concerned That Your Backup Generator Might Not Be Up To The Challenge When The SHTF? Have You Considered A Westinghouse eVinci™ Nuclear Microreactor?

From Westinhouse:

eVinci™ Microreactor

Westinghouse is currently developing the eVinci™ Microreactor, a next-generation, micro-modular reactor for decentralized remote applications.

The eVinci™ microreactor’s innovative design combines new technologies with 60+ years of commercial nuclear design and engineering, creating a cost-competitive and resilient source of power with superior reliability and minimal maintenance. Its small size allows for transportability and rapid, on-site deployment in contrast to plants requiring large amounts of construction. eVinci™ can produce 5MWe with a 15MWth core design. The reactor core is designed to run for eight or more full-power years before refueling.

eVinci™ Microreactor Key Benefits

• Reliable energy source in all weather conditions, temperatures, and locations.
• Fully factory-assembled and transportable in shipping containers via rail, barge, and truck.
• Above-ground installation requires minimum ground disruption with less than a 2-acre footprint.
  • Minimal onsite personnel required for operation/maintenance/security.
• Seamless, reliable pairing with wind, solar, and hydro with grid forming or grid following capabilities.
• Ability to immediately load-follow and load-shed within milliseconds.
  • Can provide process heat for district heating or high-grade heat for industrial applications.
• Flexible energy with scale-up and scale-down capabilities.

....MUCH MORE 

Based on the "1MW can power 1000 average homes" rule of thumb you can supply 4999 of your favorite neighbors, or keep it all to yourself and let your inner Ben Franklin/Thomas Edison/George Westinghouse/Nikola Tesla run wild!

Westinghouse is jointly owned by Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and Cameco (CCJ)

"BofA says the chip reshuffle makes Nvidia a 'compelling' value play" (NVDA)

On a generally down day, the three major American indices down 1% or more, Nvidia is up a bit, +$1.20 (+0.63% ) at $191.02.

Two from Yahoo Finance. First up, January 20:

The semiconductor sector is bracing for a game of musical chairs, and the best seat might be the most obvious, says Bank of America's Vivek Arya.

"Our preferred compute names NVDA, AVGO, AMD and CRDO are projected to grow sales on average at a 42%," Arya wrote in a recent note to clients.

Despite their massive reach, Arya argues that these cloud chip giants are trading at a "notably compelling valuation backdrop" of just 0.5x their price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio. For an industry often accused of being in a valuation bubble, the math suggests that the biggest names in the AI revolution are actually trading at a steep discount relative to their growth.

The call comes as the semiconductor industry enters a critical earnings week, with heavyweights like ASML (ASML), Lam Research (LRCX), and Texas Instruments (TXN) set to report. All the while, investors are keeping a close eye on the macro environment as a Federal Reserve rate decision looms.

While the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) is already up roughly 11% year to date — handily beating the S&P 500 (^GSPC) — BofA warns that the easy money in equipment makers may have been made. The bank is now signaling a "reshuffling" away from expensive tool-makers and back into compute engines such as Nvidia (NVDA).

Arya's skepticism toward the current market leaders lies in the math. For many semicap stocks — the companies that make the machines that manufacture the chips — to justify their current price tags, they need to see massive earnings upgrades. Without a significant re-rating of consensus earnings growth into the 20% range, these stocks may have peaked for the cycle.

Currently, majors like Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research are trading at more than 2.1x their PEG ratio. Under BofA's valuation metrics, that "makes them vulnerable to near-term profit-taking." Within that specific group, only KLA Corp (KLAC) stands out as a reasonable bet at 1.8x PEG.

The real opportunity, according to the bank, has shifted to the "dependable customers" of these tools: the AI chip designers. Nvidia and its peers are currently trading below their historical multiples despite a projected 49% earnings growth rate through 2027. This divergence creates a rare scenario where the chip designers are essentially a better value play than the companies that build their infrastructure.

At the same time, investors looking to bottom-fish in the analog chip space should proceed with caution. While Texas Instruments is expected to put up solid numbers this week, Arya cautions investors not to "confuse seasonality for a new upcycle."

With industrial activity still in contraction and auto production muted, the bank suggests the analog recovery is more of a mirage than a move. Instead, the focus should remain on the "mission-critical" spending of big tech hyperscalers....

...MORE 

And today, February 23:

When you see the stock of the company at the epicenter of the AI boom trading at super-low valuations, it's cause to sit up in your seat.

That's where I am on Nvidia (NVDA) ahead of its much-anticipated earnings report on Wednesday. Call it a state of pre-earnings shock.

At less than 24 times estimated forward earnings, Nvidia is trading not far from its lowest price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple in five years. It's also well below its five-year average of roughly 38 times.

And as they say in showbiz: But wait, there's more (see charts below).

Nvidia's P/E ratio remains near the low end of its peers in Big Tech:

 

....MUCH MORE 

Here's the last year of price action via FinViz:

 

FinViz

In November 2015 we were touting it as:

"NVIDIA: “Expensive and Worth It,” Says MKM Partners" (NVDA) 

The reason we put prices in our posts, it makes it easier to follow up:

...Nvidia’s share price soared $3.91, or 14.16% to $31.63 in late morning market action. 

Divide by 40 for the 40:1 stock splits and you get 79 cents to $191, a good run.

Or conversely, that $31.63 is $7640.00 and now it's a relative value play.