New York, Feb 8, 2026, 09:32 (EST) — Market closed
- Nvidia finished Friday at $185.41, gaining 7.9%, capping a volatile week for AI-related names.
- Chipmakers jumped, with investors wagering that Big Tech’s bigger spending on AI infrastructure will translate into more hardware orders.
- Nvidia’s quarterly earnings, due Feb. 25, are the next big catalyst.
NVIDIA Corp (NVDA.O) jumped 7.9% to finish Friday at $185.41, before slipping 0.12% after the bell. U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, leaving investors watching to see if the AI-fueled rally picks up again on Monday.
Nvidia led the charge in a sweeping semiconductor rally Friday, as the Dow crossed the 50,000 mark and the PHLX semiconductor index (.SOX) jumped 5.7%. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) surged 8.3%, with Broadcom (AVGO.O) up 7.1%. “This trade has been volatile,” Baird investment strategy analyst Ross Mayfield said, noting “real demand for AI products” in the wake of this week’s selloff. Reuters
Big Tech spending set things off. Amazon.com is targeting a massive $200 billion capex budget for 2026, sparking fresh concern about whether its investment will actually deliver matching returns. Capex refers to outlays on assets with staying power—think data centers, servers, networking equipment—which are the very products Nvidia supplies.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang told CNBC that demand is “going through the roof,” calling AI close to an “inflection point,” Investopedia reported. That same piece flagged that Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet together may spend around $650 billion in 2026. Nvidia shares? They’ve bounced back to roughly even for 2026, and are still up over 40% from a year ago. Investopedia
For traders, it boils down to this: Nvidia’s largest customers spending more can mean a solid pipeline, but these days, the market reacts sharply to even subtle signs of uncertainty—whether that’s pushed-back projects, rollout lags, or changing priorities. The AI trade is packed and moves fast; any stutter gets noticed.
The product story isn’t straightforward. According to The Verge, Nvidia is pushing back the RTX 50-series “Super” update, putting AI chips ahead as memory supply remains tight. That same supply squeeze is likely to keep investors focused on capacity limits and the ongoing shift between gaming and data center demand. The Verge
Nvidia’s rally is fueled by that spending spree, yet it’s the same wave of capex that rattled investors just days ago. Heavy outlays push cloud and software firms to show they can squeeze profits from all this investment. If skepticism about returns creeps back in, chip names could easily get caught in a selloff—despite strong demand right now.
February 25 marks the next key date. Nvidia is set to hold its conference call at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern, where it will cover fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 results—those numbers run through January 25.
Investors want to hear whether customer budget conversations are translating into actual purchase orders. They’ll also be watching for updates on supply, pricing, and what’s coming up soon in the product lineup. Feb. 25 will set the pace heading into March.
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