Nvidia Joins the $5 Trillion Club as Earnings Looms and Nuclear Power Plans Take Shape

Nvidia has crossed a historic threshold, closing Friday at a record $208.27 per share and pushing its market capitalization beyond $5 trillion for the first time. The milestone places the chipmaker in an elite group alongside Apple and Microsoft — the only three companies ever to reach that valuation. In euro terms, the stock ended the session at €172.96, up roughly 2% on the day, and has gained 85% over the past twelve months.

The rally was fueled by a broad semiconductor surge that rippled across the sector. Intel posted a 22% jump in its data center and AI revenue for the first quarter of 2026, sending its own shares up nearly 24% — its best single-day performance since 1987. AMD climbed almost 14%, while Qualcomm added around 11%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index extended its winning streak to 18 consecutive trading sessions, racking up a 47% gain since the run began. Nvidia itself rose roughly 20% in April, more than erasing its first-quarter losses.

A Strategic Pivot to Nuclear Energy

Beyond the trading floor, Nvidia is laying groundwork for the next generation of AI infrastructure. The company has struck an unusual partnership with energy firm Oklo and the Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop nuclear-powered AI factories. The logic is straightforward: the power demands of massive compute clusters are growing at a pace that traditional energy sources may struggle to meet. The industry is increasingly moving toward vertically integrated infrastructure, where power generation and GPU architecture are planned in tandem.

The urgency of this approach was underscored by the recent launch of OpenAI’s GPT-5.5, which runs on Nvidia’s current Blackwell architecture. The model’s computational requirements highlight the need for dense, reliable energy solutions for future workloads.

Internal AI Adoption and New Product Launches

Nvidia is also eating its own dog food. More than 10,000 employees — including engineers and legal staff — now use an internal GPT-5.5-based assistant called “Codex.” According to internal reports, the tool has compressed debugging cycles from several days to just a few hours.

On the product front, Nvidia unveiled “Ising,” a suite of open-source AI models designed for quantum computing applications. The move extends the company’s software ecosystem deeper into high-performance computing territory.

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

Technical Picture and Market Sentiment

The stock’s technical position looks solid. It trades comfortably above its 50-day moving average of roughly €158, and in dollar terms sits nearly 10% above its 200-day average. Trading volume on Friday was 23% above the daily average. Analysts peg immediate resistance at $212, with primary support at $174.50.

The consensus among analysts remains a “Strong Buy,” with average price targets ranging from $268 to $281. The stock has gained a modest 7% since the start of the year in euro terms, leaving room for further upside if earnings deliver.

The May 20 Earnings Test

All eyes are now on May 20, 2026, when Nvidia reports results for the first fiscal quarter of its 2027 financial year. The company has guided for revenue of approximately $78 billion, which would represent a 77% year-over-year jump. Analysts are slightly more optimistic, forecasting nearly $79 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $1.70 — a 121% increase from the prior year.

The centerpiece of the report will be the production ramp of the new Vera-Rubin platform, with initial shipments slated for the second half of the year. Investors will scrutinize whether Nvidia can maintain its gross margin above 75% as it transitions its product mix to the latest architecture.

Risks on the Horizon

The picture is not without clouds. Ongoing US export restrictions on China remain a headwind, and the growing trend among cloud hyperscalers — Microsoft, Amazon, Google — to develop their own AI chips could eventually eat into Nvidia’s dominance. Whether these factors will temper the May numbers will become clear when the company reveals its order backlog.

For now, the market is betting that the AI spending cycle has plenty of runway left. The combination of a $5 trillion valuation, nuclear-powered data centers on the drawing board, and a product cycle that shows no signs of slowing gives Nvidia a narrative that few companies can match.