By Allison Morrow
Publication Date: 2026-02-26 21:36:00
A version of this story appeared in CNN Business’ Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.
New York
—
Nvidia’s earnings Wednesday evening were, on paper, a runaway success: Profits nearly doubled in the fourth quarter and sales hit an all-time high.
In reality, they were a huge disappointment.
Shares of the chip maker at the center of the AI trade sank in late trading Wednesday, and closed 5.5% lower Thursday. You could watch the financial media headlines shift from their initial “Nvidia eases bubble fears” vibe to a more somber “Nvidia fails to impress.”
Part of this is just the Nvidia curse: The company has so reliably beat earnings estimates quarter after quarter for the past three years that it has conditioned investors to expect blockbusters. “Very good” is no longer remarkable when talking about the most valuable public company on the planet.
But the other part of this is a genuine mood shift on Wall Street — around AI broadly, and Nvidia in particular.
“Investors know there is trouble in paradise,” wrote Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, following Nvidia’s call with investors Wednesday.
There’s a lot more to any company than the black-and-white facts and figures on its…
