Huang Exits, Cisco Reports: Who Actually Gets Paid for AI

Dear readers,

Nvidia is losing its founder and chief executive, and the AI trade is suddenly without its most prominent advocate. The resignation hits a market that had only just steadied itself on Wednesday after a sharp slide. Yesterday we sorted the field by who earns and who borrows.

Today the question is more practical: where do reliable revenue and margins from the AI build-out actually land? Nebius has already answered part of it this morning, Apple has been answering since Wednesday, and Cisco follows after the close.

Nvidia: A New Chief in the Middle of the Quarter

Nvidia announced the immediate resignation of Jensen Huang as president, chief executive and board member. CFO Colette Kress takes over as interim head of the company. Harvey Jones, formerly the chief executive of Synopsys, becomes the board’s first chairman.

The stock trades around $151 in the current session. That is well below Wednesday’s close of $173.73 and below the 52-week low of $164.27. Bernstein and Baird had already downgraded the shares, both with a price target of $200. The quarterly results are due Tuesday, Nov. 17, and every word the interim CEO says about strategy will count. Until then, holders should look less at the person and more at order visibility and margins.

Cisco: What Does the AI Business Cost in Margin?

Cisco reports after the U.S. close tonight. The conference call starts at 4:30 p.m. ET (10:30 p.m. CET). Analysts expect first-quarter revenue of about $18.1 billion, roughly 22% more than a year ago, and adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share. The company’s own guidance spans $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion.

The gross margin is the number to watch. Cisco has guided to an adjusted 65% to 66%. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to “equal-weight” on Nov. 5 and cut its price target from $135 to $120. Its reasoning is that hardware for the big cloud providers earns less margin than the core business. The shares have lost about 13% over 30 days and trade near $100.

In fiscal 2026, Cisco booked $9.3 billion in AI orders from hyperscale customers. For fiscal 2027, it is aiming for about $7.5 billion in AI revenue. The market wants proof that those orders turn into sales without dragging down profitability.

If the full-year outlook holds at $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion in revenue and $5.05 to $5.11 in adjusted earnings per share, that would be evidence of predictability.

Away from the AI noise, two software names have product news. Check Point has received FedRAMP certification for its web and API protection, which lets it serve U.S. government agencies. ServiceNow is launching an AI tool meant to cut the switch between customer-management systems down to weeks. Neither will move the stocks much, but both show where companies keep releasing budget.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Cisco?

Neoclouds: Growth Alone Is Not Enough

CoreWeave jumped nearly 25% on Wednesday. Third-quarter revenue rose 168% to $3.66 billion, and the backlog stands at $132.5 billion. But the company spent $14.51 billion on capital investment in the quarter and plans $37 billion to $39 billion for 2026. The shares now trade a little above $50, well below Wednesday’s close of $60.77.

Nebius showed this morning how quickly sentiment can turn. Revenue rose 571% to $980.8 million, beating the $907.2 million consensus. The loss per share was 13 cents. Even so, the stock is down about 23% in German trading, to roughly €108. Holding such names takes a strong stomach. The market now rewards record growth only while the capital intensity looks bearable. A beat on the numbers no longer moves the stock by itself.

Apple: Safe Harbor, but Not Cheap

Apple hit a record high on Wednesday and trades around $357.50, up about 31% for the year. Bernstein reiterated “outperform” with a $380 price target. The company spends only about 2% of revenue on property and equipment and relies on Google’s models for on-device AI.

The price of that safety is steep. The stock trades at 37 times consensus 2027 earnings. Morningstar sees it as moderately overvalued and confirmed its fair value of $290. The latest quarter was strong, with revenue up 12% to $114 billion and iPhone revenue up 18%. But the 47.9% gross margin benefited from a one-time tariff refund, and rising memory chip prices could weigh on it going forward.

Apple is therefore less a bargain than an insurance policy against capital needs, and the market is already charging a high premium for it. Today is also the ex-dividend date for the $0.27 per share payout.

Anthropic: The IPO Becomes the Test

Anthropic plans to set its price on Nov. 18 and begin trading on the Nasdaq on Nov. 19 under the ticker ANT. It is offering 825 million shares at $70 to $78, which would raise up to $64.4 billion. Another $26 billion is meant to come in through a private placement, including $10 billion each from Google and Nvidia.

Nvidia’s stake was disclosed one day before the reports about its board. The Wall Street Journal reports today a target valuation of $1.3 trillion. According to the Financial Times, the banks want to push for a price around $83.

Then the numbers. Third-quarter revenue was $17.0 billion against a net loss of $23.3 billion. Compute commitments add up to about $900 billion. The offering covers only about 6% of the shares, and strong demand from index funds is expected. For retail investors, a scarce supply can lift the first trade but does not carry the business model. Anyone planning to subscribe should know the loss statement first.

Outlook

Cisco decides tonight whether network equipment makers can turn AI orders into profitable revenue. Nvidia follows on Nov. 17 with its first results after the CEO change, and a day later Anthropic sets its offer price. Until then, volatility in AI stocks is likely to stay high. For those who would rather not play the build-out through Nvidia or the neoclouds, network, security and platform vendors offer the more predictable business models.

Best regards,
The StocksToday.com Editorial