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- Nvidia takes center stage as the AI titan prepares to release its latest earnings after the bell on Wednesday.
- Oil prices are falling as Iran and Oman seek a temporary agreement on the Strait of Hormuz.
- President Donald Trump’s Saudi nuclear agreement goes to Congress for approval.
- Canada announces its own retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks to members of the media following the company’s “Japan AI Ecosystem” reception in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd coming to you from London.
Nvidia is carrying the weight of the AI world on its shoulders. But, with sky-high earnings expectations, can the group led by CEO Jensen Huang actually impress investors?
Read on.
What you need to know today
Nvidia will report earnings after the bell on Wall Street on Wednesday. The AI darling’s blockbuster performance over the last year has driven earnings forecasts higher, adding to the so-called “expectations premium” Nvidia now needs to surpass.
The Street is projecting an eye-watering set of second-quarter sales at over $92 billion, according to FactSet. Cantor Fitzgerald highlighted consensus third-quarter sales expectations of $103.7 billion in a Saturday report.
Over the last year, Nvidia has beaten expectations across all topline metrics, but shares have been sold down the following trading day, according to Bespoke Data.
Hyperscaling test
This quarter, there is one persistent concern among investors: Nvidia’s dependence on the hyperscalers. The company now reports earnings in a way that separates these hyperscalers into its AI cloud, industrial and enterprise pack. Investors have voiced worries about this concentrated dependence on Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
Nvidia fell 2.9% on Monday, dropping for a seventh straight day, the longest losing streak since 2022. Shares ended the day 2.2% higher on Tuesday.
For CNBC’s Jim Cramer’s view on how Nvidia’s earnings have become a “referendum on the entire AI trade,” read more here.
Crude in the red
Oil prices were sharply lower in early trade on Wednesday.
A combination of factors is playing into the session today. Iran and Oman are discussing a joint temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to increase traffic through the chokepoint.
This comes as the U.S. administration forges ahead with its plan to use economic sanctions to escalate its war with Tehran.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has submitted a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia to develop civil nuclear energy. This accord has now been submitted to Congress. A U.S. official told MS NOW that this will only move forward if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords.
Retaliation time
Canada has outlined “dollar-for-dollar” retaliatory tariffs that it will impose on over $20 billion of U.S. goods, after trade talks broke down with the Trump administration.
The counter-tariffs range from 15% to 50% and target a wide array of Canadian imports from the U.S., including dairy, seafood, appliances, wood and paper products, and clothes.
Among the most significant are 50% tariffs on American steel and aluminum, doubling the current rate.
The Bessent Bid
The so-called “debasement trade” has found a second wind following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s intervention in the bond market.
In this environment, assets like crypto and precious metals gain as investors look to hedge against the weaker U.S. dollar and Treasury debt.
— Leonie Kidd
And Finally…
Dolly Parton, queen of country music, dies at 80
Dolly Parton was around six when she wrote her first song: “Little Tiny Tasseltop,” an ode to her corncob doll with corn-silk hair. Her mother stored it preciously in a shoebox.
“I loved that little doll,” Parton wrote decades later. “I expressed myself and my feelings through writing – I’m sure what I was thinking was, ‘Well, Tasseltop has to have a song about her.’”
Parton never stopped making music after that. The irrepressible country music singer, songwriter and actress whose charisma, heartfelt lyrics and business acumen captured the public’s imagination for nearly six decades, died on Tuesday aged 80, her family said in a statement.
— Reuters
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