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Nvidia (NVDA) is scheduled to report results of its third fiscal quarter after the market close on Wednesday, November 19, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. What to watch for:

EXPECTATIONS: During its last earnings conference call, Nvidia said its outlook for Q3 included revenue of $54.0B, plus or minus 2%. The company had not assumed any H20 shipments to China in the outlook. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were expected to be 73.3% and 73.5%, respectively, plus or minus 50 basis points. The company continued to expect to exit the year with non-GAAP gross margins in the mid-70% range; GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses were expected to be approximately $5.9B and $4.2B, respectively. Full year fiscal 2026 operating expense growth was expected to be in the high-30% range; GAAP and non-GAAP other income and expense was expected to be an income of approximately $500M, excluding gains and losses from non-marketable and publicly-held equity securities; GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates were expected to be 16.5%, plus or minus 1%, excluding any discrete items.

Current consensus EPS and revenue forecasts for Nvidia's October-end quarter stand at $1.25 and $55.03B, respectively, according to data from Yahoo Finance.

AI STRENGTH SET TO CONTINUE: Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and price target of $210 on Nvidia into earnings. The firm expects Nvidia will again exceed estimates and guide better than Street given only positive data points through Q3 and into Q4. The question, in Wedbush's view, is rather the exact magnitude of upside given Nvidia seems to have grown beyond the beat by $2B, guide $2B higher cadence that had typified results through 2025 and 2026.

AI COMPUTE DEMAND: Stifel recently raised the firm's price target on Buy-rated Nvidia to $250 from $212. The firm increased estimates ahead of the company's Q3 earnings report on November 19. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's recent keynote outlined the company's "ongoing positioning as the backbone" of artificial intelligence infrastructure, underpinned by more than $500B in cumulative order book for Blackwell and Rubin infrastructure spanning 2025 and 2026, the firm tells investors in a research note. Stifel believes AI compute demand is likely to scale higher and views Nvidia as best positioned to benefit.

STRONG GROWTH: Wells Fargo also raised the firm's price target on Nvidia to $265 from $220, while keeping an Overweight rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. The firm sees reported Q3 2026 and Q4 2026 guide upside bogeys at $50B-$52B and $58B-$60B. Wells cites increased estimates for the price target change, alongside a consistent 2027 30 times price to earnings multiple given Nvidia's strong growth and best-in class positioning for continued datacenter / AI investments.

MATERIAL ACCELERATION: Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore raised the firm's price target on Nvidia to $220 from $210 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm's industry checks are showing material acceleration and Morgan Stanley expects the "strongest result we have seen in the last few quarters" as Blackwell gets into full ramp, says the analyst, who is raising estimates above the Street view and still believes "we are conservative." Blackwell remains the AI chip of choice and Vera Rubin demand signals are "VERY strong," adds the analyst, who notes that Nvidia shares have underperformed AI peers, but thinks "that should reverse."

UPSIDE TO CONSENSUS: Keeping an Outperform rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results, Oppenheimer raised the firm's price target on Nvidia to $265 from $225. The firm sees upside to consensus Q3 sales/EPS $54.7B/$1.25 and Q4 $61.5B/$1.42 led by new GB300 Ultra. CSP/hyperscalers continue to upside capex reflecting insatiable AI appetite. Nvidia rack-scale NVL72 remains AI's go-to performance/watt leader, Oppenheimer adds. NVL72 supply remains tight as backlog grows. The firm believes exponential growth drivers including reasoning and agentic AI are creating an adoption flywheel. China, over $50B opportunity, remains out of the model for now, Oppenheimer notes.

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