Attention, Nvidia Shareholders: 1 Crucial Thing to Watch in the Second Half
Nvidia, after early headwinds, finished the first half of the year with a gain.
The company reached a new milestone in recent days, one that could set the tone for share performance in the second half.
10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›
The first half was a bit of a roller coaster ride for Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shareholders. The stock slid almost 30% from the start of the year to early April amid a variety of concerns -- from the future of artificial intelligence (AI) spending to worries that President Trump's import tariffs would weigh on the economy and corporate earnings.
Meanwhile, the company continued to launch its new Blackwell platform and delivered double-digit quarterly revenue growth. The message for future prospects is bright too, with Nvidia speaking of soaring demand in the area of AI inference and launching projects abroad such as the building of AI infrastructure in Abu Dhabi. All of this, along with an easing of international trade tensions, prompted investors to return to growth stocks, and one of their top picks has been Nvidia -- the stock finished the first half with a 17% gain.
Now, as we head into the second half of the year, you may be wondering how Nvidia will fare -- here's one crucial element to watch.
Nvidia's success story
Nvidia has built an amazing success story over the years, transforming itself from a company that mainly served the video gaming market to one that's at the center of one of today's highest growth industries. The graphic processing unit (GPU) still is integral to video games, but Nvidia -- thanks to sales of GPUs and related products and services -- today generates most of its revenue from AI customers. For example, in the latest quarter, data center revenue made up 88% of total revenue.
This AI giant entered the AI market in its earliest days and aggressively built an empire. Today, selling the world's top-performing GPUs, Nvidia dominates the AI chip market and has pledged to update its chips -- and often complete architecture -- on an annual basis. It launched this annual rhythm with the Blackwell architecture and chip in the fourth quarter of last year -- the rollout went smoothly, Nvidia maintained gross margin in its forecast range, and Blackwell delivered $11 billion in revenue during its first quarter of commercialization.
That represented a successful start to this fast-paced innovation plan, and this brings me to the point to watch now -- a new milestone for Nvidia -- as the second half begins. Nvidia's next launch is Blackwell Ultra, and it's already started as cloud player CoreWeave just announced the availability of the platform. CoreWeave now is offering customers access to GB300 NVL72, a system that's a step up from the original Blackwell and a leap from the Hopper architecture -- that was the main Nvidia architecture in use before the original Blackwell launch this winter. GB300 NVL72 may provide a fiftyfold jump in output for reasoning model inference compared to Hopper.
A new product launch
Now, the point to watch is this Blackwell Ultra rollout, with special attention to demand and whether the process is smooth or not. And once earnings season rolls around, it will be important to look at sales figures as well as gross margin. If this latest update mirrors the Blackwell launch, investors may have something to cheer about -- and we'll have reason to be optimistic about the next chip launches too.
Nvidia will have proved its ability to successfully handle frequent chip releases and maintain strong growth and profitability on sales. If there's a glitch along the way or if Nvidia misses a financial goal, then it will be important to dig deeper and examine whether this was just a one-time problem or something that could persist through the next product launches.
This is crucial for Nvidia because its market leadership depends on this ability to innovate and successfully roll out a new product. Demand for Blackwell this winter, with it exceeding supply at certain moments, shows us customers are eager to get their hands on the next Nvidia innovation. That's positive, but Nvidia must smoothly deliver on promises in order to keep this momentum going. So far, with the Blackwell launch as a reference point, there's reason to be optimistic.
And if Nvidia scores a win with the Blackwell Ultra launch too, the company could see its stock continue to march higher in the second half.
Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?
Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $699,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $976,677!*
Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to180%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump's previous tariffs terrified the world economy. He's betting this time is different
WASHINGTON — When U.S. President Donald Trump last rolled out tariffs this high, financial markets quaked, consumer confidence crashed and his popularity plunged. Only three months later, he's betting this time is different. In his new round of tariffs being announced this week, Trump is essentially tethering the entire world economy to his instinctual belief that import taxes will deliver factory jobs and stronger growth in the U.S., rather than the inflation and slowdown predicted by many economists. On Tuesday, he told his Cabinet that past presidents who hadn't aggressively deployed tariffs were 'stupid.' Ever the salesman, Trump added that it was 'too time-consuming' to try to negotiate trade deals with the rest of the world, so it was just easier to send them letters, as he's doing this week, that list the tariff rates on their goods. The letters marked a change from his self-proclaimed April 2 'Liberation Day' event at the White House, where he had posterboards with the rates displayed, a choice that led to a brief market meltdown and the 90-day negotiating period with baseline 10% tariffs that will end Wednesday. Trump, instead, chose to send form letters with random capitalizations and punctuation and other formatting issues. 'It's a better way,' Trump said of his letters. 'It's a more powerful way. And we send them a letter. You read the letter. I think it was well crafted. And, mostly it's just a little number in there: You'll pay 25%, 35%. We have some of at 60, 70.' When Trump said those words, he had yet to issue a letter with a tariff rate higher than 40%, which he levied Monday on Laos and Myanmar. He plans to put 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, two major trading partners and allies deemed crucial for curbing China's economic influence. Leaders of the 14 countries tariffed so far hope to negotiate over the next three weeks before the higher rates are charged on imports. 'I would say that every case I'm treating them better than they treated us over the years,' Trump said. Three possible outcomes His approach is at odds with how major trade agreements have been produced over the last half-century, detailed sessions that could sometimes take years to solve complex differences between nations. There are three possible outcomes to this political and economic wager, each of which could drastically reshape international affairs and Trump's legacy. Trump could prove most economic experts wrong and the tariffs could deliver growth as promised. Or he could retreat again on tariffs before their Aug. 1 start in a repeat of the 'Trump Always Chickens Out' phenomenon, also known as TACO. Or he could damage the economy in ways that could boomerang against the communities that helped return him to the White House last year, as well as hurt countries that are put at a financial disadvantage by the tariffs. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Trump's letters had 'extended his tariff purgatory for another month,' essentially freezing in place the U.S. economy as CEOs, foreign leaders and consumers are unclear of Trump's actual strategy on foreign trade. 'The TACO negotiating tactic pioneered by Trump is making his threats less and less credible and reducing our trading partners' willingness to even meet us halfway,' Wyden said. 'There's no sign that he's any closer to striking durable trade deals that would actually help American workers and businesses.' So far, the stock and bond markets are relatively calm, with the S&P 500 stock index essentially flat Tuesday after a Monday decline. Trump is coming off a legislative win with his multitrillion-dollar income tax cuts. And he's confidently levying tariffs at levels that previously rocked global markets, buoyed by the fact that inflation has eased so far instead of accelerating as many economists and Democratic rivals had warned. 'By floating tariffs as high as 40% to even 100%, the administration has 'normalized' the 25% tariff hikes — yet this is still one of the most aggressive and disruptive tariff moves in modern history," said Wendong Zhang, an economist at Cornell University. 'This gradual unveiling, paradoxically, risks normalizing what would otherwise be considered exceptionally large tariff hikes.' Questions about how much money tariffs will generate With Trump's 90-day tariff negotiation period ending, he has so far sent letters to 14 countries that place taxes on imported goods ranging from 25% to 40%. He said he would sign an order Tuesday to place 50% tariffs on copper and said at the Cabinet meeting that at some point pharmaceutical drugs could face tariffs of as much as 200%. All of that is on top of his existing 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on autos and his separate import taxes on Canada, Mexico and China. 'The obvious inference is that markets for now are somewhat skeptical that Trump will go through with it, or alternatively they think compromises will be reached,' said Ben May, a director of global economic research at the consultancy Oxford Economics. 'That's probably the key element.' May said the tariffs are likely to reduce the growth in U.S. household incomes, but not cause those incomes to shrink outright. Trump has said his tariffs would close U.S. trade imbalances, though it's unclear why he would target nations such as Tunisia that do relatively little trade with America. Administration officials say trillions of dollars in tariff revenues over the next decade would help offset the revenue losses from the continuation and expansion of his 2017 tax cuts that were signed into law Friday. The federal government has collected US$98.2 billion in tariff revenues so far this year, more than double what it collected last year, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the tariff revenues could be 'well over $300 billion by the end of the year.' Bessent added that 'we don't agree' with the Congressional Budget Office estimate that tariffs would bring in $2.8 trillion over 10 years, 'which we think is probably low.' The governments of Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and South Africa have each said they hope for further negotiations on tariffs with Trump, though it's unclear how that's possible as Trump has said it would be too 'complicated' to hold all those meetings. Instead on Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that the tariffs would be charged as scheduled starting Aug. 1. 'There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Josh Boak, The Associated Press
Globe and Mail
39 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Uber Announces Date of Second Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss its second quarter 2025 financial results on Wednesday, August 6th at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time (8:00 a.m. Eastern Time). A live webcast of the conference call and earnings release materials can be found on Uber's Investor Relations website at A replay of the conference call will be accessible for at least 90 days. Disclosure Information Uber uses and intends to continue to use its Investor Relations website as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the company's Investor Relations website, in addition to following the company's press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations, and webcasts. About Uber Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 61 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.
National Post
39 minutes ago
- National Post
Novanta Inc. Schedules Earnings Release and Conference Call for Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Article content Article content BOSTON — Novanta Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVT) (the 'Company'), a trusted technology partner to medical and advanced technology equipment manufacturers, will release its second quarter 2025 results on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. Article content The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss these results. To access the call, please dial (888) 346-3959 before the scheduled conference call time. Alternatively, the conference call can be accessed online via a live webcast on the Events & Presentations page of the Investors section of the Company's website at Article content A replay of the audio webcast will be available approximately three hours after the conclusion of the call on the Events & Presentations page of the Investors section of the Company's website at The replay will remain available until Monday, September 29, 2025. Article content About Novanta Article content Novanta is a leading global supplier of core technology solutions that give medical, life science, and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers a competitive advantage. We combine deep proprietary expertise and competencies in precision medicine, precision manufacturing, robotics and automation, and advanced surgery with a proven ability to solve complex technical challenges. This enables Novanta to engineer proprietary technology solutions that deliver extreme precision and performance, tailored to our customers' demanding applications. The driving force behind our growth is the team of innovative professionals who share a commitment to innovation, the Novanta Growth System, and our customers' success. Novanta's common shares are quoted on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol 'NOVT.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Novanta Inc. Article content Article content Article content
