by Dr. Chris Kacher
**NVIDIA Earnings: A Massive Beat Reinforces the AI Supercycle**
NVIDIA delivered another blockbuster report for **Q1 FY2027** (ended April 26, 2026), released after the close on May 20.
### Key Results
- **Revenue**: **$81.6 billion** (+85% YoY, +20% QoQ) — beat expectations of ~$78–79B.
- **Data Center (AI)**: Record **$75.2 billion** (+92% YoY).
- **Non-GAAP EPS**: **$1.87** — beat estimates of ~$1.76–1.78.
- Gross margins remained exceptionally strong (~75%).
The numbers confirm explosive demand for Blackwell and continued strength in the overall AI GPU ecosystem. Guidance for the current quarter was also robust (~$91B revenue) suggesting the AI infrastructure cycle has another full year of runway.
### How This Earnings Season Has Shaped the Narrative
This earnings season has been defined by one dominant theme: **Big Tech is all-in on AI infrastructure**.
- Hyperscalers (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Oracle) have collectively guided **$650B–$725B+** in combined 2026 capex, the vast majority earmarked for AI.
- This is existential spending — not discretionary. The ROI projections on AI remain high enough to justify massive investment even in a higher-rate environment brought on by higher oil which may be temporary depending on the war with Iran.
NVIDIA’s beat and strong tone further validates this narrative. The market is no longer asking *if* the buildout will happen — it’s asking *how fast* and *who benefits most*.
### How NVDA’s Report Is Likely to Affect Other AI Stocks
**Positive Tailwinds Across the Board:**
- **Memory Leaders** (MU, SNDK) → Strongest beneficiaries. Every new GPU cluster needs massive HBM and storage. Tight supply + pricing power should continue.
- **Power & Cooling** (VRT, BE, IREN, CORZ, APLD) → Hyperscaler capex validates the power bottleneck thesis. These names often see the biggest multiple expansion on AI momentum.
- **Networking & Optics** (AVGO, LITE, ANET) → Data movement inside clusters remains critical.
- **Other Compute/Enablers** (TSM, AMD) → Foundry and alternative chip demand stays elevated.
**Near-term risks**
High expectations mean any perceived weakness in guidance could trigger short-term profit-taking. However, the overall direction remains strongly bullish.
### Top Performing / Highest Conviction AI Stocks Going Forward (Selfish Investing Lens)
**Tier 1 – Highest Probability of Significant Gains**
- **MU (Micron)** — Memory pure-play with HBM leadership.
- **VRT (Vertiv)** — Data center cooling/power infrastructure leader.
- **AVGO (Broadcom)** — Custom ASICs + networking dominance.
- **IREN / CORZ / APLD** — Data center + AI cloud plays (next wave after early movers).
**Tier 2 – Strong Momentum**
- **SNDK (SanDisk)**, **BE (Bloom Energy)**, **LITE (Lumentum)**, **TSM**.
**Bottom Line**
NVIDIA’s blowout quarter + Big Tech’s aggressive capex guidance reinforce that we are still in the **early-to-middle innings** of the AI infrastructure supercycle. While macro volatility (yields, oil) can create temporary dips, the fundamental demand tailwinds are powerful and multi-year in nature.
The biggest winners going forward will continue to be those with **real booked revenue, power advantages, and clear execution** — exactly the characteristics that drove our actionable reports to members on IREN’s massive move last year. But data center names such as IREN and APLD (incorrectly stated as nuclear) made massive moves so may take longer to digest their gains though contract and hyperscaler wins continue to fuel the sector.
On the other hand, nuclear names may base even longer because nuclear power regulations suggest nuclear will not be viable until the 2030s. In the meantime, speed is everything right now. AI demand is exploding today, not in 2030. Solar + batteries can be built and connected much faster than any nuclear project.
Focus on relative strength, volume dry-ups, buyable gap-ups, and pocket pivots in the highest-quality names. Never buy extended since these high alpha names tend to have sharp pullbacks.