Nvidia’s First Post-Jensen Earnings Land This Week Under Kress

Chief Financial Officer Kress has taken over as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. Huang founded the company more than 30 years ago and became the face of the AI trade.

The allegations come after years of forceful comments from Huang that Nvidia should be able to sell its best chips into China. Members of Congress have called a series of hearings.

Over the next month, Huang, Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are all expected to testify to both chambers. Lawmakers want answers on Huang's conduct and on potential violations of US export policy.

What to expect from the report

Yahoo Finance tech editor Daniel Howley wrote that the upheaval will not affect earnings this quarter or next. Nvidia has sales locked in well in advance, so its bottom line will not take a hit for some time, if at all.

Kress will still have to address Huang's departure and the company's plans on the call. Analysts will have questions, and several have already downgraded Nvidia stock or cut their price targets.

A crowded market calendar

Anthropic is expected to price its IPO midweek and begin trading the following day. It would be the first pure-play generative AI company to come to market, and investors will be watching every angle.

Retail earnings follow. Target reports midweek, Walmart and Ross Stores the next day, and BJ's Wholesale Club closes the group at the end of the week, giving a read on consumer spending.

In tech, Palo Alto Networks and Bending Spoons report this week. China's Baidu and Alibaba also give results.

Retail sales data and the University of Michigan's twice-monthly consumer sentiment reading are the key economic releases.

The S&P 500 enters the week almost exactly where it stood before the election results, as major headlines and crosscurrents have largely canceled each other out. Yahoo Finance described it as "lots of action, little motion."