Episode summary
BI Weekend: Nvidia, Retail Earnings, Anthropic Investment | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: Kunjan Sobhani, Mandeep Singh, Jennifer Bartashus, Drew Reading, Anthony Hughes, Michael Shah, Mary Ross Gilbert, Abigail Gilmartin
Summary
Nvidia’s third-quarter report was framed as a major bullish signal for AI spending: the company beat estimates, issued a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast, and argued against the idea that the AI industry is in a bubble. The analyst said demand signals into 2026 and 2027, plus a half-trillion-dollar pipeline, suggest further upside if supply keeps improving and customers execute on their buildouts.
The episode also focused on the growing web of AI capital tie-ups around Anthropic. The analyst said Microsoft and Nvidia’s planned investment up to a combined $15 billion reflects how frontier LLMs need huge amounts of compute, while Microsoft can better justify capex because it has customer commitments and cloud revenue tied to those investments. In retail, Walmart was described as benefiting not just from value-seeking consumers but from e-commerce, convenience, and higher-income shoppers, while TJX remained a standout because its off-price model attracts all income groups and keeps finding inventory.
Home improvement and payments also pointed to a cautious consumer. Lowe’s results were described as better than feared but still pressured by housing weakness and tariffs, and Klarna’s record revenue showed buy now, pay later remains a fast-growing alternative to credit cards. On biotech, Novo Nordisk’s lower cash-pay obesity-drug pricing was presented as a direct challenge to Eli Lilly and a move to expand patient starts.
Key takeaways
- Nvidia’s beat-and-raise quarter was portrayed as one of the most bullish in a while, with the analyst seeing significant upside to Street numbers if execution holds.
- The analyst said Nvidia’s China business remains effectively shut down by geopolitics, despite licensing clearance, so no revenue is assumed there.
- Microsoft and Nvidia’s Anthropic investment was framed as a compute-and-cloud strategy, with Microsoft better positioned than Meta because customers help pay for the capex.
- Walmart’s strength came from both value shoppers and convenience-driven e-commerce growth, including higher-income customers.
- Lowe’s was described as better than feared, but tariffs and a weak housing market still point to higher prices into 2026.
- Novo Nordisk’s new cash-pay pricing was said to undercut Eli Lilly by about $100 per dose and could pressure compounding GLP-1 sellers.
Notable quotes
“This was one of the more bullish earnings we have seen from this name in a while”
“we think there's significant upside to the current street numbers”
“it feels like uh you know investors were okay with them using the GPU compute for their own family of apps”
“Walmart had another good quarter”
“Lowe's results could be best characterized as better than feared”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts, radio news. This is Bloomberg Intelligence with Scarlett Fu and Paul Sweeney. How do you think the Fed is looking at tariffs, the uncertainty of tariffs?
Let's take a look at the sectors and how they perform. A lot of investors getting whipsawed every day by news events, breaking market headlines and corporate news from across the globe. Could we see a market disruption, a market event?
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On today's Bloomberg Intelligence Show, we dig inside the big business stories impacting Wall Street and the global markets. Each and every week, we provide in-depth research and data on some of the 2,000 companies and 130 industries our analysts cover worldwide. Today we'll look at earnings reports from some of the world's largest retailers.
Plus, a look at why the Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk will be further lowering the prices of its obesity drugs for cash paying patients. But first, we'll begin with earnings from chip giant Nvidia. This week, the company reported third quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates.
Nvidia also delivered a surprisingly strong revenue forecast and pushed back on the idea that the AI industry is in a bubble. For more, we were joined by Kunjan Sabani, Bloomberg Intelligence senior semiconductor analyst. We first asked Kung Jan for his take on Nvidia this week.
This was one of the more bullish earnings we have seen from this name in a while. Uh not just on the numbers of the 3Q 4Q guide which they blew past even the loftiest buyside targets but just beyond that the long-term the 26 sort of uh and going into 27 demand signals that they showed uh namely the half a trillion of the pipeline which we think now is a conservative number given the number of deals they have announced.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- nvidia earnings
- anthropic investment
- retail earnings
- homebuilding and home improvement
- obesity drug pricing
Companies and tickers mentioned
- NVDA
- MSFT
- WMT
- LOW
- NVO
- LLY
- TJX
- Nvidia
- Microsoft
- Anthropic
- Walmart
- Lowe’s
- Klarna
- Novo Nordisk
- Eli Lilly
- TJX
- Amer Sports
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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