NEW YORK, July 24, 2026, 07:05 EDT — Premarket trading remained active while U.S. cash markets stayed closed.
- NVIDIA shares hovered around $208 in premarket trading, down roughly 0.4% from Thursday’s closing price.
- The stock rose 2.9% since last Friday, while the Nasdaq declined 1.5%.
- Alphabet Inc. NASDAQ:GOOGL increased its 2026 capital expenditure outlook by $15 billion. Despite this, NVIDIA shares declined on Thursday.
NVIDIA started Friday showing mixed signals in the market. The company outperformed major tech peers, yet lagged behind the broader surge in semiconductor stocks.
NVIDIA advanced 2.9% from July 17 to Thursday. The PHLX Semiconductor Index climbed 5.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.5%.
| Market gauge | July 17 close | July 23 close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA stock | $202.81 | $208.76 | up 2.9% |
| PHLX Semiconductor Index | 11,673.89 | 12,343.84 | rising 5.7% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,520.24 | 25,137.69 | down 1.5% |
Figures are based on closing prices and have been rounded. NVIDIA outperformed the Nasdaq by 4.4 percentage points, but lagged the chip index by 2.8 points.
The spread suggests internal rotation. While investors continue to prefer AI infrastructure, capital is dispersing throughout its supply chain.
Shares of Micron Technology Inc. NASDAQ:MU rose 3.2% on Thursday. NVIDIA dropped 1.56%, and the semiconductor index was down 0.54%.
Alphabet presented the week’s key challenge, raising its 2026 spending outlook to a range of $195 billion to $205 billion. Its stock, however, declined 7.1%.
The link is no longer working. Larger budgets from hyperscalers do not automatically trigger a swift NVIDIA surge anymore.
Alphabet posted a quarterly free cash flow deficit of $5.9 billion. Estimates referenced by Reuters show its capital expenditure as a share of revenue at 41%, compared to 23% before.
Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets noted that investors may scrutinise cash put back in “simply to remain competitive.” There are also calls for AI-generated revenue to exceed both capex and operating expenses. Reuters
NVIDIA is now looking for more than just increased budgets. The company wants to see spending translate directly into orders for its own products, rather than custom chips or competitor platforms.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. NASDAQ:AMD intensified the matter on Wednesday. Anthropic committed to purchasing as much as two gigawatts worth of MI450 systems beginning in 2027. AMD might also provide up to $5 billion in investment.
Server sales in the pipeline may reach amounts in the tens of billions of dollars. EMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne stated that with every success, “AMD’s credibility as the number-two to Nvidia” grows. Reuters
The rollout begins in 2027, which restricts the near-term revenue impact for NVIDIA.
NVIDIA continues to show strength in its operations. First-quarter revenue for the fiscal period was $81.6 billion, an 85% increase. Revenue from its data-center division climbed 92% to $75.2 billion.
The company forecast second-quarter revenue at $91 billion, with a possible variation of 2%. Chief Executive Jensen Huang stated NVIDIA “should be growing faster than hyperscale capex.” NVIDIA Newsroom
Microsoft Corp. NASDAQ:MSFT, Meta Platforms Inc. NASDAQ:META, and Amazon.com Inc. NASDAQ:AMZN are scheduled to report next week. Their investment outlooks will reveal if Alphabet’s tighter cash flow stands out or is part of a broader trend.
The Federal Reserve is set to announce its rate decision on Wednesday, with PCE inflation data due Thursday. Early pricing Friday indicated about a one-in-three probability of a rate hike.
Risks: NVIDIA’s growth outlook could be impacted by a reduction in capital expenditures, advances in custom-chip technology, or more restrictive financial environments. China is also a limiting factor, as the company’s quarterly guidance does not include data-center compute revenue from China.
NVIDIA is set to release fiscal second-quarter results on August 26. Ahead of that date, investors might favor individual chip suppliers instead of automatically opting for the leading AI company.
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