The Breaker Times

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Nvidia: Great is not good enough
Nvidia’s numbers continue to dazzle. The chipmaker beat earnings per share and revenue expectations: net income, at $16.6 billion, more than doubled compared with a year ago, while revenue surged 122%. Alongside its earnings, Nvidia also announced a $50 billion stock buyback. Still, its shares fell around 7% in extended trading.

Choppy stocks
Major US indexes fell Wednesday, dragged down by Nvidia as investors were on edge ahead of its earnings. Super Micro Computer was also a big drag, with its shares plunging 19% after the company said it’d not file its annual report on time, and Hindenburg Research disclosed a short position on it. On the other hand, European markets mostly closed higher.

The ride’s not over
Stocks took investors on a bumpy ride this August. Spooked by worse-than-expected U.S. economic data, seeing a sharp sell-off at the start of the month. Even though the S&P 500 has recovered its losses, Goldman Sach’s Christian Mueller-Glissmann sees it as a cause for concern. People aren’t interested in the thrill of a roller-coaster ride anymore.

Big non-tech
Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, hit $1 trillion in market capitalization on Wednesday. It’s the first U.S. non-technology company to reach that milestone. Berkshire has climbed more than 28% this year, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 18% rise. This might be the best birthday present for Buffett, who turns 94 on Friday.

[PRO] Nvidia’s market hold
What moves markets? In recent years, thanks to inflation, the US consumer price index; the personal consumption expenditures price index; the nonfarm payrolls report. And now, thanks to the artificial intelligence explosion, Nvidia’s earnings reports. Here’s how the S&P, over the past year, has shifted after Nvidia reports earnings.

Is it fair to say Nvidia beat expectations, if the chipmaker’s performance over the past year has driven retail investors to always expect that the company will exceed expectations?

For its recently concluded quarter, Nvidia earned $30.04 billion in revenue, higher than the $28.7 billion expected. Even better, it said it anticipates around $32.5 billion in revenue for the current quarter, outstripping the $31.7 billion estimated by analysts.

That boost is because the company expects “to ship several billion dollars in Blackwell revenue,” said Nvidia Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress. Blackwell is Nvidia’s next-generation artificial intelligence chip.

It’s all good news, right? Why, then, did Nvidia stock fall more than 7% in extended trade?

There was one black cloud: Nvidia’s gross margin in the current quarter dropped to 75.1% from 78.4% compared with the previous period; the company also said it expects full-year gross margins to be in the “mid-70% range.”

That’s perhaps the only figure that came in below consensus expectations. Analysts were looking at 76.4% for full-year margin.

Dipping margins mean income won’t grow as quickly even if revenue explodes. So that’s a legitimate cause for concern.

Nvidia’s earnings came out after the bell, but they had investors on edge and dragged the broader U.S. indexes lower Wednesday.

Investors in general have been worried about the sustainability of Big Tech’s boom. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.12%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39%.

When U.S. trading reopens Thursday, Nvidia’s effects on the broader market will likely be more pronounced. The options market is “implying a +/- 10% move following earnings, higher than its four quarter average of 7%,” John Marshall, who’s on Goldman Sachs’ derivatives research team, said in a note to clients.

When you’re expected to beat expectations, you essentially have two bars to clear. That, perhaps, places unfair pressure on a company and its stock.

— CNBC’s Kif Leswing and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.