AI's Make-or-Break Week: Nvidia's Post-Scandal Earnings and Anthropic’s Blockbuster IPO
Wall Street's years-long enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, which has recently shown signs of fatigue, confronts two critical hurdles next week: Nvidia's quarterly financial results and the public market debut of Anthropic. Together, these events will test whether investor confidence in the sector's massive capital expenditures remains intact amid escalating political and corporate headwinds.
Turmoil at the heart of the AI hardware boom intensified on Thursday when longtime Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned following revelations of two extramarital affairs, one reportedly involving a suspected Chinese spy. The scandal sent Nvidia shares tumbling and erased substantial value from a company that has anchored the four-year U.S. bull market. According to LSEG data, Nvidia’s market capitalization fell from roughly $5.8 trillion in early October to around $4 trillion by Thursday. When the chipmaker reports fiscal third-quarter results on Tuesday, former CFO and newly appointed interim CEO Colette Kress will face intense scrutiny to steady the company. Wall Street forecasts 90% earnings growth on $109 billion in revenue, and F/m Investments CEO Alex Morris warned that any operational shortfall would trigger an amplified market selloff given the leadership vacuum.
Just 48 hours after Nvidia’s report, Anthropic—developer of the Claude chatbot—is slated to begin trading on the Nasdaq, offering an immediate gauge of investor appetite for generative AI. The artificial intelligence laboratory and select existing shareholders plan to offload 825 million shares to raise up to $64.4 billion, targeting a valuation as high as $1.4 trillion. This debut follows June’s blockbuster listing of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which secured $75 billion at a nearly $1.75 trillion valuation. SpaceX has experienced a volatile trajectory since, dipping from its $135 offering price to roughly $105 in August before recovering to around $140. Patrick Ryan, chief investment strategist at Madison Investments, noted that a weak reception for Anthropic would serve as a stark warning that investors are growing anxious about AI valuations.
These corporate milestones arrive alongside broader macroeconomic pressures. Earlier this month, Democratic victories over President Donald Trump’s Republicans in the midterm elections sparked fears of stricter regulatory oversight on AI data center expansion. Despite these anxieties and Nvidia’s slide, the broader S&P 500 remains on pace for a weekly advance and holds a nearly 11% gain for 2026. However, Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s Sameer Samana cautioned that investors have viewed geopolitical and economic risks—including the war in Iran and persistent inflation—through "rose-colored glasses," adding that missteps next week could shatter that optimism.
Beyond technology, markets will digest crucial consumer and monetary policy signals. Tuesday's U.S. retail sales report and quarterly earnings from Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s will reveal whether household spending is withstanding elevated borrowing costs and higher gasoline prices tied to the Middle East conflict. Furthermore, after October consumer prices exceeded expectations, investors will scrutinize Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes for clues on how aggressively policymakers intend to raise interest rates in the coming months.
