Nvidia shares rose on Thursday after the chip giant reported earnings that beat estimates and provided much-needed reassurance that the demand for AI compute was still rising.

Nvidia posted record revenue of $57.0 billion for the third quarter ended October 26, 2025. The figure represents a 22% increase from the previous quarter and a 62% jump year-over-year.

Data Center revenue drove performance, reaching $51.2 billion, up 25% quarter-on-quarter and 66% year-on-year.

Nvidia saw strong demand for its cloud solutions, which the company said had sold out.

“Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

The company maintained strong profitability with gross margins of 73.4% on a GAAP basis and 73.6% on a non-GAAP basis. Earnings per diluted share came in at $1.30 for both measures.

Nvidia returned $37.0 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and cash dividends during the first nine months of fiscal 2026, which is equivalent to Tesco’s entire market cap.

“Nvidia bears the weight of the world, but like Atlas, it’s standing firm under that towering mountain of expectations. Third quarter results delivered the goods and then some, a 4% beat on the top and bottom line came with a side of more good news in the form of a monster $65 billion revenue guide for the fourth quarter,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“While AI valuations are dominating the news feeds, Nvidia is going about its business in style. There are certainly pockets of the AI space where valuations needed to take a breather, but Nvidia is not in that camp. In fact, while shares have performed well this year, the valuation has gotten more attractive as earnings growth has raced ahead.”

Britzman was also upbeat on Nvidia’s outlook, pointing to the group’s dominance and a deep moat that protects its valuation.

“Looking ahead to next year, demand isn’t in question, Nvidia already has a massive backlog of orders. What’s new is that its market dominance is facing scrutiny.

“Key customers are exploring viable alternatives, at least on paper, as they seek faster compute and diversification away from a single supplier. The real question is how those alternatives stack up. Designs and promises of similar performance are one thing; track record at scale is another, and no one matches Nvidia there. Its breadth remains underrated: a full data center business spanning chips, software, networking, and more. Even if rivals can offer parts of the stack, Nvidia’s fully integrated solution will be hard to beat.”

JD Sports has issued steady third-quarter trading, with total sales rising 8.1% at constant currency rates, though the retailer has cautioned on weaker near-term consumer indicators ahead of its crucial peak trading period.

The sportswear giant reported group like-for-like sales down 1.7% for the 13 weeks to 1 November, with organic growth of 2.4%. Performance varied significantly across regions, with Asia Pacific emerging as the standout performer.

JD Sports has been under pressure for some time, so today’s lackluster results won’t come as a surprise to investors. To some extent, they were to be expected.

North America, representing 37% of Q3 sales, saw like-for-like sales decline 1.7%, though organic growth reached 3.0%. Excluding Finish Line stores, the picture improved considerably with like-for-like sales down just 0.2%. The region experienced continued softness in footwear as key product lines reached end-of-cycle, though the running category showed encouraging momentum.

Europe delivered resilient results with like-for-like sales down 1.1% but organic growth of 4.0%. The region’s sporting goods businesses performed well, with apparel sales proving robust against softer footwear demand.

JD said the launch of Italy’s new e-commerce platform showed promising early results.

The UK remained the most challenging market. Like-for-like sales fell 3.3%, though this represented an improvement on Q2’s trajectory. Unseasonably warm September weather impacted apparel sales and outdoor businesses, whilst the online business faced market-driven promotional pressures.

The retailer now anticipates FY26 profit before tax and adjusting items will fall within the lower end of current market expectations, noting the critical importance of Q4’s peak trading period.

Despite near-term headwinds, the company maintains it is “controlling what we can well” through strict operating and financial discipline.

“JD has thrown caution to the wind regarding its near-term outlook, citing weaker macroeconomic and consumer data points as the reason for cutting its full-year profit guidance,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“While that’s disappointing, the longer-term opportunity ahead looks promising given its strong market position. Trading at just 6.3 times next year’s earnings, the valuation offers plenty of upside potential if it can return to growth in key markets. And if investors are patient enough to ride out some uncertainty over the next couple of years, it could prove to be a very attractive entry point.”

JD shares were flat at the time of writing.

The FTSE 100 was largely flat on Wednesday as calm descended over global equities after a tumultuous week driven by concerns about AI valuations and interest rate expectations.

London’s leading index was marginally higher at the time of writing and looked set to flip between negative and positive territory for the rest of the session.

“Investors will breathe a sigh of relief that the market sell-off has lost momentum,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Pockets of Europe and Asia were up on Wednesday, and futures prices imply a similar trend when Wall Street opens later today.

“It’s the good news everyone wanted. The key question is whether this is simply the calm before the storm.”

And the storm Mould alluded to could come later today with Nvidia earnings, which hold the key to the immediate trajectory of global stocks.

“Nvidia reports tonight and the slightest bit of news to disappoint investors has the potential to whip up a tornado across global markets. Investors will be hanging on Jensen Huang’s every word and looking for clues that big investment in AI is worth it,” Mould said.

The FTSE 100 was split nearly 50:50 between winners and losers, with investors taking a stock-specific view ahead of Nvidia’s earnings.

Fresnillo soared to the top of the leaderboard as gold prices extended gains above $4,000. Fresnillo rose 6% while Endeavour rose 3%.

Severn Trent shares were 1% lower despite announcing rising revenues and profits.

“Severn Trent’s latest trading update demonstrates strong momentum, with a 57% profit jump and robust capital investment, reflecting solid execution amid a complex regulatory environment,” said Adam Vettese, market analyst for eToro.

Sage was 3% higher on upbeat earnings and a fresh £300m share buyback.

BAE Systems and Babcock were the top FTSE 100 fallers, with BAE losing 2.3%.

Guident is set to introduce MiCa, its autonomous shuttle service, to the City of Boca Raton in a new partnership with Circuit Transit, adding another deployment to its portfolio.

The new loop will connect residents and visitors within Mizner Park when it launches on Friday, 21 November.

The news comes as the company prepares for its NASDAQ listing. Guident has recently filed an updated S-1 form with the SEC, signalling a price range of $7.80 – $9.80.

The US government shutdown has caused a backlog of administration at the SEC so Guident is likely in a line of companies waiting to push forward with their IPO.

Guident’s RMCC platform powers service

The MiCa shuttle deployment in Boca Raton will operate using Guident’s Remote Monitor and Control Centre (RMCC) platform, which provides real-time vehicle oversight, predictive incident prevention, and encrypted data security.

“This launch marks a defining moment for Boca Raton and for the future of driverless mobility. The MiCa is managed by Guident’s RMCC platform, which bridges technology and human judgment, ensuring that every autonomous journey is monitored, secure, and safe,” said Harald Braun, Chairman and CEO of Guident.

Key features include fleet analytics, route optimisation, and vehicle health monitoring, giving operators and municipalities enhanced tools for safer and more efficient mobility management.

Expansion plans

Following the MiCa launch, Guident will work with the City of Boca Raton and Circuit to explore options for enhanced the capabilities of the network within the city.

“MiCa builds on Circuit’s transportation services in Boca Raton. Partnering with Guident to introduce an autonomous service in Boca is about continuing to innovate while giving the community a safe, seamless way to get where they need to go,” said Alex Esposito, CEO and Co-Founder of Circuit.

Circuit currently operates all-electric, on-demand micro transit services in more than 50 US markets, having delivered millions of rides connecting people to employment, shopping, healthcare, and local destinations. The company partners with cities, local governments, and private properties to reduce congestion, cut emissions, and support local economies.

Boca Raton, the second-largest city in the Palm Beaches, is home to more than 30 corporate headquarters and three nationally ranked universities, making it a hub for business, education, and research.

Conventional thinking would suggest you should avoid Crest Nicholson. The term ‘catching a falling knife’ springs to mind.

The company has sunk to multi-year lows after a series of disappointing updates exacerbated by general gloom around the UK economy.

Indeed, Crest Nicholson shares could go lower. Possibly significantly lower. But for those with a time horizon of more than a couple of years, the Crest Nicholson share price looks very good value.

One thing the market always underestimates with housebuilders is just how difficult it is for companies to grow to the scale of a housebuilder like Crest Nicholson.

The company had 31,369 total land bank plots as of 30th April.

The trading statement released this week highlighted that they had sold some of this land, but even after the sales, the value of Crest Nicholson’s land bank can only be replicated by only two or three other UK housebuilders.

There are just a few companies in the UK that can build houses to meet the deep-rooted structural demand on a scale that Crest Nicholson can.

So when the company misses completion estimates due to short-term challenges such as the Labour budget and their talk down of the economy, the resultant decline in shares should be seen as an opportunity.

The weakness in Crest Nicholson’s shares is almost entirely due to a soggy earnings outlook. And this is warranted given the recent slowing of housing market activity.

There is, however, an argument that investors should look beyond short-term earnings multiples to the value in housebuilders’ landbank and balance sheet.

With inventories of around £1bn and net assets of £733m as of April, Crest Nicholson is trading at a 40% discount to book value.

This is a metric long-term value investors will appreciate.