Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) posted a double beat on fiscal second-quarter earnings Wednesday and guided to $108 billion in third-quarter revenue, sending the stock up 8.7% in a single session and adding more than $370 billion in market value. Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) followed a day later, with its stock jumping as much as 20% on a second quarter beat, raised guidance, and an expanded artificial intelligence partnership with Anthropic.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) had what the company called its best quarter yet. Underneath the earnings-driven rallies, memory chip supply constraints and a fresh round of tariff uncertainty out of Washington kept traders on alert for the rest of the week.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering new semiconductor tariffs that could widen the scope of duties to include laptops, gaming consoles, and AI data center servers. While Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick favors tying tariff relief to domestic chip investment, tech companies warning of disrupted AI buildouts are actively lobbying against the measure. The White House advised that any unannounced tariff reporting should be viewed as “baseless speculation”.
Below is a category-by-category rundown of the developments that moved consumer technology, semiconductor and space stocks between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28.
Semiconductor, Software & Technology
- Nvidia reported second-quarter revenue on Wednesday of $96.22 billion, above the $92.11 billion expected by analysts, with adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share, ahead of the $2.09 range forecast by Wall Street, guiding to $108 billion in third-quarter revenue. CEO Jensen Huang said the “AI infrastructure buildout is at full steam,” and CFO Colette Kress pointed to 70% revenue growth expected in fiscal 2028, with the top five hyperscalers’ combined capital expenditure seen reaching $1.3 trillion. The stock’s 8.7% gain Thursday marked its best day since April 2025.
- Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MRVL) posted a second quarter double beat driven by data center demand and raised guidance twice, yet the stock fell nearly 8% as investors focused on margins rather than growth. CEO Matt Murphy called Google’s AI revenue opportunity a “monster number.” Marvell posted second-quarter revenue of $2.74 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 billion. The chip designer reported adjusted earnings of 94 cents per share for the period, beating estimates of 92 cents per share.
- SK Hynix said the current memory shortage is expected to persist through 2030 as the company builds a $4 billion fabrication plant in Indiana, with HBM4E production targeted to begin there by 2029.
- China’s CXMT reported first-half revenue growth of 874% to $22.4 billion and profit of $10.8 billion, citing AI-driven demand for DRAM memory chips.
- CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) reported second-quarter revenue of $1.47 billion, beat estimates and raised its full-year forecast. CEO George Kurtz said AI agents are now acting as “friend and foe,” fueling both new attacks and new demand for the company’s security tools.
- Synopsys Inc (NASDAQ:SNPS) raised its annual outlook after third-quarter revenue grew 42%, citing AI-driven demand for chip design tools. Nvidia has invested $2 billion in the company.
- Semtech Corp (NASDAQ:SMTC) reported second-quarter revenue growth of 33% to $341.9 million and raised its third-quarter outlook, with data center sales up 91% on AI infrastructure demand.
- Autodesk Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ADSK) third-quarter earnings-per-share guidance came in below estimates.
- SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S) beat second-quarter estimates but issued soft guidance.
- Rubrik Inc (NYSE:RBRK) beat second-quarter estimates and raised guidance, with its Agent Cloud product adding paying customers, though monetization remains in early stages.
- IREN Ltd (NASDAQ:IREN) said its 2026 data center capacity is “largely sold out” and it expects strong demand for 2027 and 2028 capacity, even as the company posted a fourth-quarter revenue miss.
- The Trump administration is weighing new semiconductor tariffs that could affect AI data center servers, laptops and gaming consoles, according to multiple reports during the week, a development that lifted Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) and Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) stock on supply-chain repositioning bets.
- Intel unveiled next-generation AI processors, including Diamond Rapids, Crescent Island and Wildcat Lake, aimed at enterprise and data center workloads, after falling earlier in the week amid a broader semiconductor sell-off tied to its $20 billion stock offering.
Smartphones, Retail & Consumer Tech
- HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) reported record third-quarter revenue and raised guidance, as investors focused on rising PC memory costs squeezing margins.
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw global iPhone shipments rise 13% in the second quarter of 2026, driven by iPhone 17 demand, according to IDC data cited during the week. IDC also said Apple’s iOS share is on track for a record high even as the broader smartphone market posted its steepest-ever slump. Separately, Apple unveiled updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models with M6 and M5 Ultra chips and cut the price of its Polishing Cloth accessory to $9.
- Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) faced a settlement with U.S. states, reported at up to $17 billion to $18 billion across different reports during the week, tied to allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive to children. The agreement includes new teen usage limits and expanded parental controls.
- PDD Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PDD), the parent of Temu, posted second-quarter 2026 revenue that missed estimates while earnings per share beat consensus.
- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) raised $10.2 billion in a Hong Kong share placement to fund its AI strategy.
Automobile & Spacecraft
- Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) said it will deliver approximately 75 Semi trucks to logistics company Einride AB this year, with the remainder of a 500-truck order to follow by 2027. Separately, Tesla raised U.S. Cybertruck prices by more than 7% on some trims.
- Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) CFO Claire McDonough is stepping down after nearly six years with the company. VP of Finance Derek Mulvey will serve as interim CFO.
- XPeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss and issued a weak third-quarter revenue outlook, despite an 8% year-over-year revenue increase.
- Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) said during the week that its move toward in-house chips and batteries is modeled on the strategies of Apple and Huawei, rather than an attempt to replace existing suppliers such as Nvidia or CATL.
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) or SpaceX is targeting $3.5 trillion in revenue by 2033, according to Elon Musk, a timeline seven years ahead of a prior Morgan Stanley forecast for the same revenue level by 2040. SpaceX also said it is ending Falcon 9 Starlink launches from Florida as it shifts operations to Starship, and it detailed a $100 billion Starbase development plan in Louisiana that includes a discounted Starlink internet offer for nearby residents.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during the week that the agency is interested in placing AI data centers in Earth orbit, citing solar power as a way to support computing demand while strengthening the U.S. position in the AI and space race.
Artificial Intelligence
- Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, is reportedly targeting a $2 trillion valuation ahead of a potential fall initial public offering, with separate reports describing the company pursuing revenue opportunities exceeding $30 trillion over the long term.
- Nvidia is reported to have agreed to acquire Hugging Face, an open-source AI model platform, for $12.9 billion, one of its largest acquisitions to date. Nvidia is also reportedly in talks to back AI search startup Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion, with Perplexity’s revenue reported to have reached $750 million.
- OpenAI is reportedly developing an in-house AI chip known internally as “Jalapeño.” Nvidia CEO Huang said he was not taking the development personally, noting that “lots of projects get started” and “lots of projects get canceled.” OpenAI separately saw the departure of its data center chief, Chris Malone, during a period of broader executive turnover at the company.
- Zoom Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM), which holds a stake in Anthropic, said the investment supports a “federated AI” strategy, contributing to $1.28 billion in second-quarter revenue and what the company described as its fastest enterprise growth in three years.
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