Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) just did it again. Following weeks of hand-wringing over stretched AI valuations, fireworks in the options market, and the prospect of a record-shattering $320 billion post-earnings swing, the chip titan delivered a blockbuster quarter that sent ripples across the global ETF universe.
Shares of Nvidia surged higher in early trading on Thursday after the company blew past expectations and increased guidance, giving ETF investors exactly the clarity they were clamoring for. Funds packed with Nvidia, especially semiconductor, megacap tech, and AI-thematic ETFs, felt the relief rally.
- Nvidia, being the most dominant AI play, is grabbing the headlines lately. Track its prices here.
What Nvidia Reported — And Why It Lit Up ETFs
For the quarter ended October, Nvidia posted revenue of $57 billion, up 62% year over year, driven almost entirely by unrelenting AI and data-center demand. The data center business alone brought in $51.2 billion, easily beating the consensus estimate and reinforcing the Street’s view that GPU shortages remain the bottleneck constraining AI buildouts.
The company guided Q4 revenue to $65 billion, well above analyst estimates.
In the words of CEO Jensen Huang, “Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out.” In investor terms, the AI boom isn’t cooling, and Nvidia is still the one holding the thermostat.
Nvidia-Led ETFs Bounce Back
Heavy Nvidia-concentrated ETFs that investors were fretting about just 48 hours ago are among Thursday’s big beneficiaries.
Semiconductor ETFs Pop First
Funds with double-digit Nvidia weightings immediately reacted to the earnings beat:
- VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) – Nvidia constitutes ~20%+ of the portfolio. Expected to get a sharp NAV bump today. The fund was up almost 3% Thursday premarket.
- iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) — Also Nvidia-heavy, might rally today.
- Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) — Smaller fund but materially levered to Nvidia's movements.
These ETFs are essentially behaving like “Nvidia plus friends,” and Thursday’s price action is validating that reputation.
QQQ And Megacap Tech ETFs Snap Back
The pre-earnings caution around broad-market tech ETFs is now being met with buyers:
- Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) — Nvidia is one of its biggest positions, with the ETF wobbling on AI bubble worries.
- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (NASADQ: QQQM) – moving higher as well with Nasdaq futures surging.
Even The S&P 500 Giants Get A Boost
Because Nvidia is now roughly 8% of the S&P 500, broad index ETFs including:
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) should reflect Nvidia’s surge in Thursday trading. This is one of those rare earnings events where a single company meaningfully nudges an entire index.
Global Chip And AI Supply Chain ETFs Rally Too
Nvidia’s results fired optimism worldwide.
According to CNBC, chipmakers surged across Europe and Asia, BE Semiconductor Industries and ASM International jumped, while Samsung Electronics and Foxconn also rallied. US peers Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM), Broadcom, and Marvell followed suit.
That means global semiconductor ETFs like iShares Semiconductor UCITS ETF of Europe and Global X Semiconductor ETF of Australia, both of which were surging by 3% to 5% on Thursday. These are in line to benefit further from synchronized sector strength.
Valuation Concerns Still Hover
Yes, Nvidia’s numbers were sizzling enough to flip sentiment. But analysts continue to warn that the AI ecosystem remains tightly interconnected—and potentially fragile.
Karen McCormick of Beringea told CNBC that deep links between players like Nvidia and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) could make the system vulnerable if AI exuberance cools. She added that full-scale collapse is unlikely since big players have formidable balance sheets.
At Hargreaves Lansdown, Matt Britzman reiterated, according to the BBC, that although valuations in some pockets of AI look stretched, the fundamentals at Nvidia remain robust.
In a nutshell: Nvidia is still the star, but the supporting cast is getting expensive.
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