AI Trade In Focus After Solid Nvidia Earnings, Wall Street Indexes Lacked Direction

Barry Adams
28 Aug, 2025
New York City

Wall Street indexes lacked direction on Thursday as investors reviewed the fresh batch of earnings from tech leaders and retailers. 

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%, and investors digested Nvidia's quarterly results. 

Nvidia reported a surge in revenue and earnings for the ninth quarter in a row, driven by a boom in artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. 

Sales in the current quarter could have been higher by about $4 billion if Nvidia were permitted to export its custom-designed H₂O chips to China.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bernstein SocGen Group raised their price targets above $210, following the latest quarterly results.

The quarterly results from leading retailers Best Buy, Dollar General, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Williams Sonoma dominated news flow.

On Friday, the personal income and outlays report is likely to confirm the resurgent inflation, and the monthly measure of the personal consumption expenditures index is expected to rise 0.3%. 

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Nvidia Corp. decreased 1.4% to $178.90, and the artificial intelligence chip maker reported a sharp jump in revenue and earnings in the latest quarter. 

Revenue in the fiscal second quarter soared 56% to $30.04 billion, net income increased 59% to $26.42 billion, and diluted earnings per share jumped to $1.05 from 67 cents a year ago. 

The chipmaker estimated revenue in the current quarter to jump to $54 billion, plus or minus 2%, and the forecast does not include H20 chip sales to China. 

Nvidia said H20 chip sales to China could have ranged between $2 billion and $5 billion if the company could strike a deal with the U.S. and China.

Snowflake Inc. soared 13% to $227.69, and the cloud-based data storage company reported strong quarterly results following a surge in AI-driven demand for data platforms. 

Consolidated revenue increased to $1.14 billion from $868 million, net loss declined to $298 million from $316.9 million, and diluted losses per share decreased to 89 cents from 95 cents a year ago.

The company guided product revenue for the current quarter to range between $1.125 billion and $1.130 billion, and the company estimated full-year product revenue to reach $4.395 billion, representing 27% year-over-year growth.

Veeva Systems decreased 3.6% to $283.0, and the life science system-focused cloud software provider reported higher quarterly sales and earnings in the fiscal second quarter ending in July. 

Consolidated revenue inched higher to $789 million from $676.2 million, net income climbed to $200 million from $171 million, and diluted earnings per share soared to $1.19 from $1.04 a year ago.

The company guided third-quarter revenue to be between $790 million and $793 million, adjusted operating income between $348 million and $350 million, and adjusted diluted earnings per share between $1.94 and $1.95.

Best Buy Co. Inc. decreased 3.5% to $72.75, and the consumer electronics retailer reported a modest increase in sales in the fiscal second quarter ending on August 2. 

Revenue increased to $9.4 billion from $9.3 billion, net income decreased to $186 million from $291 million, and diluted earnings per share fell to 87 cents from $1.34 a year ago. 

Comparable sales in the fiscal second quarter increased 1.6%, and sales at the U.S. location advanced 1.1% from a year ago, respectively. 

However, the company said that the tariff-related uncertainties are complicating its turnaround efforts. 

The company reiterated its annual revenue estimate between $41.1 billion and $41.9 billion but trimmed its earnings range outlook to between $6.15 and $6.30 from the previous estimate between $6.20 and $6.60. 

Dick's Sporting Goods decreased 4.7% to $215.30, despite the sporting goods retailer reporting higher-than-expected revenue and earnings in the fiscal second quarter ending on August 2.

Revenue increased 5% to $3.64 billion from $3.47 billion, net income advanced to $381 million from $362 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to $4.71 from $4.37 a year ago. 

The company raised its full-year guidance for comparable sales growth to a range of 2.0% to 3.5%, up from 1.0% to 3.0% previously, and raised its full-year earnings per diluted share estimate to a range of $13.90 to $14.50, up from the previous estimate of $13.80 to $14.40.