Wall St awaits Nvidia earnings as analysts call it "Earth's most important stock"

Investing.com -- Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) will unveil its hotly-anticipated fourth-quarter earnings after the U.S. market close on Wednesday, with analysts expecting the artificial intelligence chipmaking giant to post a more than three-fold jump in revenue.

For traders, the results could provide justification for Nvidia’s sharp run-up in valuation, currently at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of a little over 32.

But the figures may also prove to be a major check-up on a massive surge in hype around AI that has helped to underpin broader stock market strength.

"When Nvidia holds its conference call this week you will be able to hear a pin drop on trading floors across Wall Street," analysts at Wedbush said in a note to clients.

Over the much of the last year, investors have been attracted to the soaring demand for Nvidia's high-end graphics processors, which are needed to power and train AI applications. Nvidia's share price has quadrupled since the end of 2022, leaving it with a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs described Nvidia as "the most important stock on planet Earth," adding that Wall Street's bar for the firm's earnings is "high."

The mania has made stocks linked to the group sensitive to any developments surrounding the business. Last week, shares in Silicon Valley firm SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) and Israeli medical device maker Nano X Imaging (NASDAQ:NNOX) both shot up after a regulatory filing showed that Nvidia had taken stakes in the companies. Meanwhile, participation by retail investors in Nvidia is at its highest level since 2021, according to Goldman Sachs data.

Nvidia is expected to clock quarterly revenue of $20.37 billion, pushing per-share profit up to $4.58.

But there have been signs of skittishness in markets around Nvidia's ability to once again top projections -- a feat it has accomplished in the first three quarters of 2023. Questions are especially swirling around how stringent U.S. export rules could impact its operations in China, a major region that accounts for over a fifth of its total revenue.

In Asian trading on Wednesday, Japanese semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) and TSMC (TW:2330) -- the world’s largest contract chipmaker -- declined. Both firms are major suppliers to Nvidia.

"Get the popcorn ready for Wednesday night," analysts at Wedbush wrote. "The AI [r]evolution starts with Nvidia and in our view the AI party is just getting started."