3 key earnings reports for this week to keep the AI trade alive

2026년 2월 22일 · Unknown · financial · 출처 Yahoo Finance

Investing.com – The artificial intelligence trade faces its most significant test of the year this week as three pillars of the AI infrastructure world prepare to release their quarterly results. With the tech sector showing signs of exhaustion, investors are looking for more than just "beats". They are looking for evidence that sustained capital expenditure (capex) is leading to the successful rollout of next-generation hardware. All eyes are on the after-market close (AMC) on Wednesday and Thursday for confirmation that the AI boom still has room to run.

NVIDIA: the unchallenged king of AI infrastructure

NVIDIA (NVDA) is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, Feb. 25, after market close (AMC). As the primary supplier of the GPUs that power large language models, NVIDIA remains the ultimate barometer for the sector. Wall Street is looking for a "beat and raise" performance, with consensus estimates pegged at roughly $65.6 billion in revenue, a staggering 67% increase year-over-year.

Traders are particularly focused on the production ramp of the Blackwell architecture chips. Any commentary regarding supply chain bottlenecks or the roadmap for the upcoming Rubin chips will likely dictate the direction of the broader S&P 500. With implied volatility suggesting a 6.5% move in either direction, NVIDIA’s report is the week’s undisputed "must-watch" event for global markets.

Hardware and clouds: CoreWeave and Dell in focus

On Thursday, Feb. 26, AMC, the focus shifts to the physical "bones" of AI. CoreWeave (CRWV), the specialized cloud provider that has become a key NVIDIA partner, will report amid high expectations for its massive revenue backlog. Analysts estimate Q4 revenue near $1.53 billion, but the real story is CoreWeave’s $56 billion backlog, which serves as a leading indicator for how much compute power AI startups and tech giants are actually leasing.

Joining CoreWeave on Thursday is Dell Technologies (DELL), which has reinvented itself as a leader in AI-optimized servers. Analysts expect earnings of $3.53 per share on revenue of $31.6 billion. Evercore recently added Dell to its "Tactical Outperform" list, citing a massive step-up in AI server orders that exited the last quarter with an $18.4 billion backlog. For Dell, the challenge will be maintaining gross margins while scaling up production to meet the "jaw-dropping" demand for AI hardware.