Nvidia earnings preview: Goldman reiterates Buy on solid AI infrastructure demand

Wall Street anticipates another strong quarter for Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA ) as investors’ favorite chipmaker prepares to release its fiscal Q2 2025 results on August 28. The company’s high-end graphics processing chips, which are the benchmark for running generative AI workloads, continue to see robust demand, setting the stage for a solid performance.

Although there have been reports of a delay in the Blackwell chip, which could cause some near-term volatility in Nvidia’s fundamentals, Nvidia’s management commentary and supply-chain data in the coming weeks may reinforce confidence in the company’s earnings potential for calendar year 2025, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.

They believe that the market is likely to overlook any negative impacts from a shift in the Blackwell ramp's timing, projecting robust sequential growth in Nvidia’s Data Center revenue. This growth is expected to be driven by strong demand for Hopper-based GPUs, early shipments of Blackwell products, and expansion in Nvidia’s Networking business, even if there are transitory headwinds related to Blackwell.

The analysts also note that customer demand remains strong among large cloud service providers and enterprises, with Nvidia maintaining a solid competitive position in AI and accelerated computing.

They highlight several supportive indicators, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's (NYSE:TSM ) improved outlook for AI demand, AMD (NASDAQ:AMD )'s increase in its full-year Data Center GPU revenue outlook, and positive comments from major U.S. hyperscalers about their plans to expand AI infrastructure investments.

Moreover, Taiwanese original design manufacturers (ODMs) and companies like Hon Hai have reported better-than-expected revenues, reinforcing the view that demand for AI servers is strong. AI server maker Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI ) also exceeded expectations with its recent earnings and provided strong guidance, driven by demand for its Direct Liquid Cooling solutions from AI-focused cloud service providers.

The analysts further mention that U.S.-based hyperscalers, which account for more than 50% of Nvidia’s Data Center revenue, have continued to express optimism about Nvidia's future.

Some customers have offered early evidence of how generative AI is already benefiting industries like advertising, indicating a preference to "over-invest in the near-term and secure a leadership position than under-invest only to miss what is shaping up to be a significant revenue/growth opportunity,” Goldman analysts said.

From a stock perspective, analysts view the setup for Nvidia as “constructive.”

The stock is currently trading at 42x next twelve months (NTM) consensus EPS, with a relative premium of just 46%—a significant discount compared to its past three-year median of 151%.

“In short, we believe risk/reward on the stock is favorable with our most bullish scenario pointing to 89% potential upside vs. 61% potential downside under our most bearish scenario.”

The analysts reiterate their Buy rating and maintain a price target of $135.

Source: Investing.com