While Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock has been suffering from a stubborn losing streak through the previous week and has only seen a moderate 0.093% upward move in the Monday pre-market, it is set for a major catalyst on August 26.
Specifically, the world’s largest semiconductor company is set to report its quarterly earnings on Wednesday in an event that is all but guaranteed to drive volatility.
Analyst and investor expectations for the day are, arguably, sky-high, with experts calling for $92 billion in sales – nearly 13% higher than in the previous quarter – and earnings per share (EPS) of $2.01.
Notably, while Nvidia outperformed forecasts in the previous fourteen reports, NVDA stock fell sharply in the subsequent sessions.
Nvidia stock dropped after each 2026 quarterly earnings report
Indeed, the blue-chip chipmaker’s equity suffered a 9.39% two-day drop after the February filing before regaining bullish momentum, and the May disclosure led to a 5.52% drop across nine days.
The short-term uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that Nvidia equity suffered downward corrections following both 2026 reports, despite rallying ahead of the event in February and dropping three months later.
Furthermore, though the NVDA stock price performance since the first filing of the year – overall a 9.80% rally by press time – indicates the semiconductor giant remains an overall ‘Buy,’ the 3.92% fall since May highlights that strong returns are not guaranteed, unlike in the previous years of the artificial intelligence (AI) ‘boom’.
Wall Street analysts remain confident Nvidia stock is a top long-term ‘Buy’
Elsewhere, even if performance has been somewhat underwhelming since Nvidia reached a $5 trillion valuation in late 2025 and the previous two quarterly earnings offer little certainty, Wall Street appears adamant that investing in the company remains a winning idea.
On average, institutional experts estimate that an investment made in NVDA shares in August 2026 will rise 40.56% in the next 12 months as the equity soars to $301.82.
Additionally, analyst confidence is reinforced by the fact that all twenty-six ratings represented on the stock analysis platform TipRanks position Nvidia as a ‘Buy’ at press time on August 24.
Why Nvidia stock is not a great ‘Buy’ ahead of Wednesday earnings
Simultaneously, there are multiple signs that the semiconductor giant is not a safe buy ahead of Wednesday’s earnings. To begin with, performance from earlier in 2026 indicates that waiting for the post-filing dip is likely to lead to better overall results.
Meanwhile, the very high forecasts for both sales and EPS increase the risk that the chipmaker will break its beating streak – an outcome that could prove catastrophic for both Nvidia stock and the wider market.
Finally, there have been multiple signs recently that the AI ‘boom’ – a cycle that has been pivotal for the semiconductor giant’s rise from a $360 billion to $5.2 trillion valuation – is weakening.
Not only has the technology failed to produce unambiguous financial benefits, but Nvidia has increasingly been making attempts to address the circular financial concerns while engaging in what appears to be circular financing.
The most recent examples of the trend came in the form of a $500 billion infrastructure funding memorandum of understanding (MoU) – which is, judging by the company’s 2025 MoU with OpenAI, more likely to lead nowhere than not – and a possible investment in Perplexity at a $30 billion valuation reported first on August 23.
Featured image via Shutterstock
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