NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is heading into the final full stretch of 2025 with investors juggling two forces that regularly drive the stock: AI infrastructure demand and geopolitics around China. Over the weekend of December 20, 2025, NVDA became the center of a fresh round of headlines—from reports that China’s Tencent may be accessing restricted Blackwell chips via overseas cloud providers, to Wall Street analysts calling Nvidia “cheap” by its own historical standards, to renewed speculation around what 2026 catalysts could restart the next leg higher. [1]
Below is a complete, publication-ready roundup of the key news, forecasts, and analyses dated Dec. 20, 2025—plus the most important late-week developments investors were digesting heading into that weekend.
Where NVIDIA stock stood heading into Dec. 20, 2025
Because December 20, 2025 fell on a Saturday, the most recent “official” datapoint for U.S. markets was Friday’s close (Dec. 19). Multiple reports pegged Nvidia around the $180–$181 area heading into the weekend, after a strong end to the week tied to chip-sector optimism and China-related headlines. [2]
Several Dec. 20 analyses also referenced Nvidia’s market capitalization around ~$4.4 trillion (with the exact number varying by source and timestamp). [3]
The biggest Dec. 20, 2025 story: Tencent reportedly accesses banned Blackwell chips via overseas cloud
One of the most talked-about reports dated Dec. 20, 2025 focused on a potential export-control loophole: that Tencent—China’s largest company by market value—may have gained access to Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chips (which are banned from export to China) through cloud services operated outside China, including sites cited in Japan and Australia. [4]
Why this matters for NVDA investors
This story hits Nvidia stock at the intersection of growth and regulatory risk:
- Growth angle: If Chinese demand can still reach Nvidia compute indirectly (via overseas cloud), it suggests demand pressure for top-end Nvidia capacity remains high—even when direct sales are restricted. [5]
- Regulatory angle: The same mechanism could draw political blowback in the U.S. and accelerate calls to tighten rules around remote access and overseas data centers serving restricted end users. [6]
Stocktwits’ coverage of the report also highlighted a key Nvidia framing: that export rules, “by design,” allow approved firms to operate cloud infrastructure outside controlled countries—and that winning those deployments is important for U.S. technology leadership. [7]
The other China headline investors weighed: U.S. launches interagency review that could enable H200 sales to China
Separate from the “Blackwell cloud” issue, Reuters reported (late Dec. 18 / early Dec. 19, and still central in weekend conversation) that the Trump administration launched a review process that could lead to the first shipments to China of Nvidia’s H200 chips—described as Nvidia’s “second-most powerful” AI chips—following the president’s pledge to permit controversial sales with a U.S. government fee. [8]
Key details from Reuters that investors focused on heading into the Dec. 20 weekend:
- The Commerce Department reportedly sent license applications for H200 chip sales to the State, Energy, and Defense Departments for review. [9]
- Those agencies have 30 days to weigh in under export regulations, though final decision authority rests with the president. [10]
- The move drew criticism from China hawks concerned the chips could boost Beijing’s military and AI capabilities, while others argued allowing sales could reduce incentives for Chinese chip alternatives. [11]
The market takeaway
For NVDA stock, the China story has become two simultaneous narratives:
- A possible “legal channel” reopening for significant Chinese demand via H200 licensing decisions. [12]
- A possible “loophole crackdown” risk if lawmakers move to restrict remote access to Blackwell-class compute through overseas cloud infrastructure. [13]
Both outcomes can move Nvidia’s revenue opportunity and its risk premium—sometimes in opposite directions.
Dec. 20 analysis theme: “Nvidia looks cheap” (by Nvidia standards)
A major Wall Street framing heading into Dec. 20 was that Nvidia’s valuation had reset despite still-strong AI demand signals.
What analysts said
Investor’s Business Daily summarized two key bullish takes investors cited into the weekend:
- Truist Securities raised its Nvidia price target from $255 to $275 and kept a buy stance, while acknowledging ongoing concerns around power availability and funding for AI infrastructure buildouts. [14]
- Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon argued Nvidia was historically inexpensive relative to the SOX (Philadelphia Semiconductor Index), noting only a limited number of days in the last decade where it was cheaper on that relative basis, while maintaining an “outperform” rating and $275 price target. [15]
MarketWatch’s recap of Rasgon’s view added several data points frequently repeated across the Dec. 20 news cycle: Nvidia trading below ~25x forward earnings, sitting in a low historical valuation percentile for the past decade, and at a discount to the chip index—paired with the argument that 2026 catalysts (including Nvidia’s Rubin platform and major events) could re-accelerate sentiment. [16]
Why “cheap Nvidia” is a powerful narrative
Nvidia is a stock where sentiment often shifts fast. When valuation expands, the stock can trade like a momentum vehicle; when valuation compresses, bulls frequently point to catalysts on the roadmap (new platforms, product ramps, and capital spending cycles) as the trigger for re-rating.
That is exactly what Dec. 20’s commentary pieces leaned on.
Dec. 20, 2025 forecasts roundup: price targets, ratings, and growth expectations
Across Dec. 20 coverage, Nvidia’s “2026 setup” was typically framed using a cluster of large-bank and boutique targets:
- Truist: $275 (maintains / raised) [17]
- Bernstein: $275 (outperform) [18]
- Morgan Stanley: $250 (buy; reiterated in Dec. 20 coverage) [19]
- Tigress Financial: $350 (maintains / raised) [20]
Insider Monkey’s Dec. 20 report also cited a one-year average price target around ~$259 (from its referenced consensus dataset at the time) and reiterated Morgan Stanley’s continued buy stance. [21]
Meanwhile, StockAnalysis’ analyst-aggregation page (updated with late-December rating actions) summarized Nvidia’s overall “Strong Buy” consensus and published aggregated financial forecasts projecting sharp revenue and EPS growth into the next fiscal year in its dataset. [22]
Note: price targets and model-based forecasts vary widely by methodology and can change quickly—especially for megacap AI names.
Dec. 20 catalysts investors kept seeing in “2026 outlook” articles
Dec. 20 wasn’t just about “what happened.” It was also about “what comes next.”
1) CES 2026 and Jensen Huang’s next big stage moment
A widely shared Dec. 20 Motley Fool analysis pointed directly to CES, beginning Jan. 6, 2026, as a near-term attention catalyst. The piece noted Nvidia planned an on-site showcase and sessions, and that Jensen Huang was listed as a speaker tied to events during CES week—while also cautioning investors not to expect a “game-changing” announcement immediately after recent earnings. [23]
The practical implication for NVDA stock: CES can reignite narrative momentum (robotics, physical AI, edge devices, automotive, partner ecosystems), even if the biggest revenue driver remains data center AI. [24]
2) Blackwell demand + backlog talk
Another Dec. 20 Motley Fool analysis (“Massive Catalyst”) argued that Nvidia was entering a new phase as demand for Blackwell ramps worldwide, while positioning backlog and margin expansion as key ingredients for upside into 2026. [25]
3) Rubin as the next platform investors will start pricing in
Both analysts and Dec. 20 commentary repeatedly pointed to Rubin (Nvidia’s next-generation AI platform) as a central 2026 narrative—essentially the “next baton pass” after the Hopper-to-Blackwell transition. [26]
Competitive pressure: Google and Meta-backed PyTorch moves aimed at weakening CUDA gravity
Not all near-term developments are tailwinds.
Reuters reported in mid-December that Google is working on an initiative internally known as TorchTPU to make its TPU chips more compatible with PyTorch, the widely used AI framework—an effort explicitly described as aiming to weaken Nvidia’s software ecosystem advantage (often associated with CUDA). [27]
Why this matters for Nvidia stock:
- Nvidia’s moat is not “just GPUs.” A core part of the bull thesis is the stickiness of its software stack and developer ecosystem.
- If hyperscalers succeed in making alternatives feel “drop-in” for PyTorch workloads, competitive dynamics could shift over time—especially for customers that already want to diversify hardware supply. [28]
This is not an immediate Nvidia revenue cliff—but it is a storyline that tends to influence multiples and long-term dominance assumptions.
Nvidia’s strategic moves: open-source AI models, and chip security against smuggling concerns
Two additional Nvidia-specific developments feeding into Dec. 20 positioning:
Nvidia’s open-source “Nemotron” model push
Reuters reported Nvidia unveiled a new family of open-source AI models—its third generation of Nemotron models—with the smallest released immediately and larger versions targeted for the first half of 2026. The company positioned the models as faster, cheaper, and smarter than prior versions, amid increased open-source competition including from Chinese AI labs. [29]
Location verification / anti-smuggling technology
Reuters also reported Nvidia developed location verification technology that could help determine which country its chips operate in—an effort connected to U.S. pressure to curb AI chip smuggling to restricted destinations. Nvidia emphasized the tool is customer-installed, “read only,” and that there is no “kill switch.” [30]
Taken together, these stories reinforce how Nvidia’s stock is now shaped not only by product cycles, but also by AI governance, national security policy, and trust in how frontier compute is controlled.
Corporate and regulatory overhangs: Nvidia’s Intel deal cleared
On the regulatory front, Reuters reported Dec. 19 that U.S. antitrust agencies cleared Nvidia’s investment in Intel, with the FTC issuing notice that the transaction was approved (terms not detailed in the notice). Reuters reiterated Nvidia had previously announced a $5 billion investment in Intel. [31]
For NVDA stock, the near-term trading impact of this clearance is usually less about financial contribution and more about:
- removing a headline risk (“regulatory overhang”),
- and signaling Nvidia’s willingness to shape the broader U.S. semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.
Market context: a late-week tech rally helped lift semiconductors
It’s also important that Nvidia’s Dec. 20 weekend narrative landed after a strong end-of-week tape for tech. Reuters reported U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday with tech leadership, citing Micron’s results as a driver of a broader chip rebound and noting Nvidia’s rise alongside other semis. [32]
This context matters because Nvidia often trades as both:
- a company-specific story (chips, platforms, margins), and
- a sector proxy for AI infrastructure momentum.
Risks investors highlighted alongside bullish forecasts
Even in bullish Dec. 20 coverage, the risk list was clear:
- China policy whiplash: the H200 interagency review process and political debate around advanced chip access can change quickly. [33]
- Export-control tightening around cloud: if the “remote access” route becomes politically unacceptable, enforcement could become more aggressive. [34]
- AI infrastructure constraints: Truist explicitly noted power and funding concerns around the scale of AI buildouts, even while staying bullish. [35]
- Competition from hyperscalers and custom silicon: Google’s TPU push is specifically aimed at reducing dependence on Nvidia’s stack over time. [36]
- Insider selling headlines: Reuters reported a long-serving Nvidia director sold roughly $44 million in shares (while still holding a large stake), a type of headline that can weigh on sentiment even when it’s not fundamentally alarming. [37]
Bottom line for NVDA stock after Dec. 20, 2025: the 2026 debate is now about “access” and “advantage”
Dec. 20’s coverage made one thing unmistakable: Nvidia’s next big move in 2026 is increasingly seen through two lenses:
- Access: How much of the world’s demand—including China-linked demand—can legally (or quasi-legally) reach Nvidia compute, and how hard governments will push back. [38]
- Advantage: Whether Nvidia’s platform lead (hardware + networking + software ecosystem) continues to widen, or whether hyperscalers successfully “de-Nvidia” parts of the AI stack by making alternatives easier to use. [39]
References
1. www.barrons.com, 2. www.investors.com, 3. www.fool.com, 4. www.barrons.com, 5. www.barrons.com, 6. www.barrons.com, 7. stocktwits.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.barrons.com, 14. www.investors.com, 15. www.investors.com, 16. www.marketwatch.com, 17. www.investors.com, 18. www.investors.com, 19. www.insidermonkey.com, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. www.insidermonkey.com, 22. stockanalysis.com, 23. www.fool.com, 24. www.fool.com, 25. www.fool.com, 26. www.marketwatch.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. www.reuters.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.reuters.com, 33. www.reuters.com, 34. www.barrons.com, 35. www.investors.com, 36. www.reuters.com, 37. www.reuters.com, 38. www.reuters.com, 39. www.reuters.com
