New York, February 21, 2026, 10:43 (EST) — The market has closed.
- Nvidia finished Friday’s session with a 1.0% gain, closing at $189.82.
- Eyes are on Nvidia’s Feb. 25 results and forecast, with investors seeking clues about AI-related spending.
- Options are signaling a bigger-than-usual move after earnings.
Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) finished Friday up 1.02% at $189.82. With U.S. markets now closed for the weekend, traders are turning their eyes to the company’s earnings slated for next week. Bloomberg.com
Nvidia’s set to report Wednesday, and all eyes will be on its outlook as well as CEO Jensen Huang’s stance on AI outlays. With a 7.8% footprint in the S&P 500, the chip giant now holds the title of the world’s most valuable company. LSEG numbers point to a 71% jump in EPS, revenue coming in at around $65.9 billion. “It’s hard for Nvidia to surprise,” said Empower’s Marta Norton. Melissa Otto at S&P Global Visible Alpha adds: “If the bulls are right, it’s not too expensive — if the bears are right, it’s not that cheap.” Reuters
Options traders aren’t shy about betting on volatility. They’re shelling out for straddles, which are pricing in roughly a 7% move for Nvidia around earnings. That’s more than double the median 3.2% swing Nvidia has seen after previous reports, according to MarketWatch. MarketWatch
Nvidia is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings this Wednesday, Feb. 25, with the conference call kicking off at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET). Written commentary from CFO Colette Kress will appear shortly after the numbers drop, around 1:20 p.m. PT, preceding the webcast Q&A. NVIDIA Newsroom
The stock is also contending with news of a possible new financial partnership involving a major customer. Nvidia is nearing a $30 billion investment in OpenAI, according to a source cited by Reuters. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is said to be targeting a fundraising round of over $100 billion, which would peg its valuation near $830 billion. SoftBank and Amazon are expected to be involved as well. Nvidia would not comment, Reuters noted. Reuters
Nvidia announced earlier this week that it’s entered a multiyear supply deal with Meta Platforms, covering millions of AI chips—both current and next-gen, like Blackwell and the soon-to-arrive Rubin line—as well as its Grace and Vera CPUs. No price tag was given. Nvidia pointed out that Meta remains one of its largest clients, despite the tech giant’s ongoing efforts to build its own AI chips and its talks around deploying Google’s TPUs. Reuters
Macro chatter has returned. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs, reopening uncertainty over potential refunds and what levers the administration could try next—among them, Reuters noted, the possibility of a short-term across-the-board 10% tariff using alternative authorities. Reuters
Nvidia sets the tone here. If there’s even a whiff of softer orders, squeezed margins, or a cautious guide, the stock—now a major force driving index swings—could get rattled.
Nvidia’s fourth-quarter results are set to land Wednesday, Feb. 25, with the event kicking off at 2 p.m. PT. investor.nvidia.com
