NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) earnings and Anthropic's trillion-dollar IPO arrive in succession! A bigger test for AI trades comes next week.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) CEO Departure Turmoil Yet to Subside as Wall Street Turns Its Gaze to Next Week NVIDIA Corporation's Quarterly Report and Anthropic's IPO Will Arrive in Succession, and Whether Confidence in AI Trades Can Withstand This Round of Dual Stress Tests Will Soon Be Revealed. NVIDIA Corporation CEO Jensen Huang suddenly resigned last Thursday due to an extramarital affair scandal, triggering deep concerns about this AI chip giant. Despite this, NVIDIA Corporation's stock fell about 13% this week, far less than the 20% or even larger decline the market had previously feared, and the S&P 500 recorded its best weekly performance since August. Meanwhile, Anthropic announced that its IPO valuation has been significantly lowered from its previous high of about $2 trillion, with the expected valuation for this listing at approximately $1.2 trillion to $1.4 trillion. The shock to the market reflects the fragility of the current AI narrative. Consumer inflation data came in above expectations, expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes are heating up, and tensions in the Middle East continue, all constituting macroeconomic pressures that cannot be ignored. Sameer Samana, Global Equity and Real Assets Head at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, warned that if both major events next week disappoint, "it could ultimately wake investors up from this 'look on the bright side of everything' state." NVIDIA Corporation: Earnings Will Verify Stability in the Post-Jensen Huang Era NVIDIA Corporation will report quarterly results after the U.S. market close on Tuesday, its first earnings report since Jensen Huang's departure, drawing extremely high external attention. According to LSEG data cited by Reuters, analysts expect NVIDIA Corporation's third-quarter revenue to be approximately $109 billion, with profit growth of about 90% year over year market expectations for the performance itself are relatively optimistic, but investors are more focused on the stability of the company's management and the continuity of its strategy. The question of a successor has become the focus. NVIDIA Corporation Chief Financial Officer and interim CEO Colette Kress will face pressure as she appears at the earnings release, with the outside world expecting her to give investors a "reassurance pill." This executive, who has served at NVIDIA Corporation for 13 years and previously worked at Cisco Systems, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, may not possess Jensen Huang-style personal charisma, but analysts believe she can provide the management continuity needed for a steady transition. According to reports, Ian Buck, NVIDIA Corporation's Vice President of Hyperscale Computing and High-Performance Computing, is currently an early favorite to become the official successor. In addition, Colette Kress will also need to explain to investors a series of financing transactions signed during Jensen Huang's tenure, which still carry many uncertainties. Alex Morris, CEO of F/m Investments, pointed out that given the uncertainty surrounding NVIDIA Corporation, "if results fall short of expectations, the market's punishment will be amplified." However, some investors have already viewed the current stock price as a buying opportunity. NVIDIA Corporation's stock has fallen more than 30% over six weeks, with its market capitalization shrinking from about $5.8 trillion in early October to about $3.9 trillion. Jeff Kilburg, founder of KKM Financial, said he bought January $200 strike call options this week, when the stock was around $160. "Their proven demand reaches $1 trillion, from Blackwell to Ruben, with visibility extending to 2028 this won't disappear," Kilburg said. Dan Ives, partner at Yorkville Ives & Co, maintained a 12-month price target of $225 for NVIDIA Corporation, viewing the current price as a buying opportunity. Anthropic: Trillion-Dollar Valuation IPO Tests the Waters, a Barometer of AI Sentiment Just two days after NVIDIA Corporation's earnings release, Anthropic, the developer of the Claude chatbot Siasun Robot&Automation, is expected to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Thursday under the ticker "ANT," with an IPO price range of $70 to $78 per share, planning to offer 825 million shares, raising up to approximately $64.4 billion. Ahead of this listing, Anthropic has lowered its valuation target from about $2 trillion in early autumn this year to approximately $1.2 trillion to $1.4 trillion. Benjamin Black, head of investment at publicly traded fund Powerlaw Corp., considers this move quite wise, noting that based on Anthropic's expected $100 billion in annualized revenue by the end of 2026, the current pricing corresponds to about 12 times ARR (annual recurring revenue), "not even very expensive." Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a livestreamed conversation with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on Friday that he hopes the company can "under-promise and over-deliver" on the IPO. Black noted that he has never seen any company receive such high investor demand in the primary market, "Anthropic smartly gave up some price so the public can also make money I think this pricing will perform quite well." This IPO follows Elon Musk's SpaceX's successful market debut in June this year SpaceX raised about $75 billion at a valuation of nearly $1.75 trillion, though the stock's post-listing performance has been volatile, falling from its IPO price of $135 to about $105 in August, and most recently trading at about $139. Patrick Ryan, Chief Investment Strategist at Madison Investments, warned that if Anthropic performs poorly after listing, "this could be another warning signal that investors are beginning to feel more pressure on AI trades." This article is reposted from "Wall Street Insights," author: Ye Zhen, GMTEight editor: Chen Yufeng.