Good morning, investors. The S&P 500 hit a new record just before Nvidia reported blowout earnings. Coincidence? Maybe.

But as they say, the universe is rarely so lazy.

Is anyone surprised?

Nvidia once again reported record earnings and alleviated concerns that the AI trade was overextended.

The stock fell in after-hours trading, though it remains up 31% year-to-date and 41% over the last 12 months.

Here’s how the chipmaker did in its fiscal second quarter:

This marked the ninth consecutive quarter that year-over-year revenue has grown by more than 50%.

“If you were waiting for clear signs of a slowdown in AI, you didn’t exactly get it,” said Jake Behan, head of capital markets for Direxion. “This quarter shows Nvidia is still firmly in the game, navigating geopolitical turbulence and regulatory challenges while maintaining its leadership in the AI space.”

The company also approved a fresh $60 billion stock buyback program

Now, two critical details stand out from Nvidia’s results:

For context, Nvidia reported $5.5 billion in revenue from China during the first quarter.

“We had a record quarter without China, and we just guided another record quarter without China,” CEO Jensen Huang said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Wednesday evening.

As it happens, the trade war uncertainty was effectively a non-factor for its earnings results.

“If you are bullish on US-China relations improving OR ANY level of chip sales to China resuming, the stock is cheap,” said Adam Kobeissi of The Kobeissi Letter.

Meanwhile, Huang also noted demand is “extraordinary” for Nvidia’s new Blackwell chips.

“Blackwell is the AI platform the world has been waiting for, delivering an exceptional generational leap — production of Blackwell Ultra is ramping at full speed,” he said in a statement.

The stock has returned nearly 1,000% since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022.

While some commentators have warned of froth, those returns haven’t actually kept up with its 12-month forward earnings estimates, as the chart from Matt Cerminaro illustrates.

Here’s how Wedbush analyst Dan Ives put it:

“With AI infrastructure investments continuing to grow with the company expecting between $3 trillion to $4 trillion in total AI infrastructure spend by the end of the decade, the chip landscape remains NVDA’s world with everybody else paying rent as more sovereigns and enterprises wait in line for the most advanced chips in the world.”

Join Best Ideas Club to unlock our portfolio of stocks that’s nearly doubled the S&P 500 this year. Each investment idea is sourced from an exclusive interview with a world-class investor.

Ondo Finance is driving one of the most significant upgrades to global finance through real-world asset tokenization.

Tokenization is poised to reshape $16 trillion in assets by 2030, and Ondo Finance is at the forefront, partnering with the world’s largest institutions, setting industry standards, and pioneering a financial system that’s faster, fairer and more accessible to all.

Learn more.

🏦 Fed Governor Cook is heading to court. Her lawyer is filing a lawsuit that could take months to be fully resolved, but near-term decisions may hold major repercussions for the central bank and its independence. Cook is expected to seek preliminary injunction that asks the court to permit her to stay in her job. (Axios)

📈 American Eagle stock is rallying again. After shareholders cheered its Sydney Sweeney marketing campaign, the retailer has tapped NFL star Travis Kelce to sell its jeans. Kelce this week announced his engagement to pop music phenom Taylor Swift. (Fast Company)

🚢 President Trump’s 50% tariffs on India have kicked in. Meanwhile, the European Union is looking to remove all tariffs on US industrial goods by the end of the week. That follows Trump’s warning that he could impose new levies on semiconductors in response to European digital services taxes. (Yahoo Finance)

📥 The Hustle is a must-read for innovators. Their daily newsletter delivers the latest stories in business and tech — what to learn from them and how to capitalize. Join 1.5M+ innovators who start their day with The Hustle. Sign up today. 

📩 Want to get in front of 185,000+ investors who get this newsletter and the 350,000 professionals who can access it on Bloomberg Terminals? Hit reply to this email and tell us why we should work together.

📰 I’m Phil Rosen, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Opening Bell Daily. I’ve published books, lived on three continents, and won awards for my journalism, which has appeared in Business Insider, Fortune, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg and Inc. Magazine.

I write our flagship newsletter to prepare you for each trading day — unpacking markets, economic data and Wall Street with analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

Feedback? Reply to this email, ping me on X @philrosenn, or write me directly at [email protected].