CNBC

Lead Story

Nvidia’s (NVDA) blockbuster Q2 earnings and an unprecedented 70% revenue growth forecast for fiscal 2028 shattered technology bear markets, sending shares surging and lifting the broader software and AI ecosystem. CEO Jensen Huang strongly defended the company’s capital-intensive AI investments, arguing that sub-one-year returns on massive data center projects prove that demand is accelerating well beyond hyperscaler buildouts.

Markets & Economics

The major stock indexes advanced, led by technology and software sectors, which recorded their best day since early August following the blowout earnings reports. This rally comes as central bankers gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where economic data showed core PCE inflation still elevated at 3.3% annually in July. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack strongly repeated her call to raise interest rates, warning that the central bank needs to “act now” to prevent a persistent inflationary mindset from setting in. In contrast, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid stopped short of calling for a rate hike but questioned whether the current 3.5%–3.75% policy rate is truly restrictive in an exclusive interview with CNBC given resilient economic growth and 4.1% unemployment. Bond yields eased slightly in anticipation of Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s highly anticipated Friday address, with the 10-year Treasury note yielding 4.645% and the 30-year bond at 5.161%.

Business & Earnings

Nvidia (NVDA) delivered a stellar second quarter, with revenue more than doubling year-over-year to $96.22 billion and net income rising over 100% to $53.95 billion ($2.22 to $2.46 adjusted EPS), alongside an expanded partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to deploy 2 million additional graphics processors. Salesforce (CRM) shares skyrocketed more than 20% after reporting $11.35 billion in Q2 revenue and expanding its partnership with Anthropic to launch “Claudeforce,” as CEO Marc Benioff refuted the “SaaSpocalypse” narrative in an exclusive Mad Money interview. CrowdStrike (CRWD) surged nearly 19% on record Q2 revenue of $1.47 billion, while Okta (OKTA) skyrocketed over 27% as demand for identity security spiked due to agentic AI adoption. Best Buy (BBY) raised its full-year outlook on a 4.1% comparable sales increase but fell 4% as analysts scrutinized profit margins. Gap Inc. (GAP) shares jumped up to 15% after hours after beating estimates with Q2 adjusted EPS of 52 cents and appointing Michael Francis as the new CEO of Old Navy to revive the brand.

Investing & Commentary

Active stock pickers are finding a fertile environment as the three-month S&P 500 intra-stock correlation plunged to essentially zero, indicating that company-level fundamentals, rather than macro moves, are driving massive dispersion. Jim Cramer cheered the technology and cybersecurity breakout, arguing that software’s comeback is real, and reiterating that CrowdStrike remains a strong buy ahead of its annual Fal.Con event. Additionally, Stephanie Link is aggressively buying natural gas stocks as cheap plays to capture the massive power demands of the expanding AI data center infrastructure. On the corporate side, Nancy Pelosi’s portfolio recently revealed a massive new stake in Bloom Energy (BE), adding 15,000 shares and 200 call options in late July.

Also Worth Watching

• [Chase Travel CEO Jason Wynn on Consumer Resilience] (Source): Jason Wynn joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss travel demand and the state of the resilient consumer.
• [Fmr. Canadian Deputy PM on Pain and Sovereignty] (Source): Former Canadian Deputy PM explains that Canadians are willing to bear economic pain because national sovereignty is worth the cost.
• [Meta Reaches Landmark Settlement in Teen Social Media Trial] (Source): Meta agreed to a $16.7 billion settlement with state attorneys general, implementing teen usage restrictions and safety controls.
• [Micron’s $50 Billion Boise Buildout Minting Millionaires] (Source): A look at how Idaho’s economy is being structurally reshaped by Micron’s massive domestic semiconductor expansion.
• [Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue on AI Cybersecurity] (Source): Delangue discusses security measures in the wake of the recent OpenAI breach and the future of open-source models.

📈 I can compile a detailed earnings and outlook tracker for the next cohort of major tech and cybersecurity names reporting next week—including Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler—so you have the setup numbers before the prints.