Nvidia set to unveil revenue surge amid sex and spy scandal as savers pile into Anthropic flotation

Nvidia, the scandal-riven US microchip giant, will unveil its third-quarter results on Tuesday in what will be this year’s most closely watched set of figures.

The numbers will be seen as an indicator not only of the health of this beleaguered company – which makes the chips that power the artificial intelligence revolution – but also of the outlook for the sector.

Heightening the scrutiny is the current $1.3trillion flotation of Anthropic, maker of Claude, the ground-breaking AI system, whose shares will be priced at $70 to $78.

Anthropic makes its debut on New York’s Nasdaq exchange on Thursday.

Nvidia’s valuation shed half a trillion dollars last week in the wake of the shock resignation of boss Jensen Huang, once known for his trademark $9,000 leather jackets, but who is now famous for his dangerous liaisons.

The married mogul had two affairs with co-workers and another with Alice Huang (no relation), whom US authorities believe to be a Chinese spy.

MegaSpeed, a firm involved with Alice Huang, is reported to have obtained smuggled Nvidia chips that were installed in a Shanghai data centre.

Washington’s apparent failure to ban exports of Nvidia chips to MegaSpeed has ignited a row in Donald Trump’s administration.

Married mogul Jensen Huang had two affairs with co-workers and another with Alice Huang (no relation), whom US authorities believe to be a Chinese spy

Nvidia is expected to unveil $108.8billion of revenue for the three months to October 25, which would be a 91 per cent rise on the same period last year.

But it must also demonstrate to global markets that it can cope without Huang, and that the hunt for a successor to the high-profile leader is proceeding.

Names such as Rene Haas, chief executive of semiconductor group Arm, and Ian Buck, head of Nvidia’s data centre division, have been touted. Trump’s favoured candidate is Tim Cook, former boss of Apple.

On the list too is interim chief executive Colette Kress, the chief financial officer. Kress is said to have been recently belittled by Huang, who called her ‘a deer in the headlights’.

Kress and her team can expect questions on Nvidia’s extensive involvement in data centres, to which it supplies chips, but also billions in financing which is fast becoming a contentious issue.

The success of the Democrats in the US mid-term elections has sparked expectations of more barriers to the building of data centres, which provide the computing power for AI.

Wider anxiety over all tech titans’ spending on AI – forecast to reach $1trillion this year – led to the descent of Nvidia shares last week. They ended the week 13 per cent down at $162.85.

But private investors ‘buying the dip’ slowed the fall, showing appetite for AI stocks may only have been temporarily dented.

Last week, the Anthropic float was said to have been six times oversubscribed. Demand for Anthropic is also building from UK private investors, who can apply for shares through platforms such as AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown. 

Some 20 per cent of the shares have been set aside for private investors.

This response is raising the possibility that Anthropic’s valuation could be raised to $1.5trillion, which would mean that a new, higher price could be set for the shares.

DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-made portfolios

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing and investment ideas

interactive investor

interactive investor

Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month

Freetrade

Freetrade

Investing Isa now free on basic plan

Trading 212

Trading 212

Free share dealing and no account fee

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.