Nvidia Shares Gain Momentum Ahead of Earnings Amid Upgraded Forecasts

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A significant analyst upgrade and substantial capital expenditure commitments from major technology firms are fueling positive sentiment around Nvidia's stock. The combined developments reinforce the view that demand for advanced computing power will remain robust, directly benefiting the chipmaker's order book.

In a recent move, Goldman Sachs has raised its financial projections for Nvidia just before the company's upcoming quarterly report. The investment bank now anticipates fourth-quarter revenue to reach $67.3 billion, a figure it notes is approximately $2 billion above the broader market consensus. For earnings per share (EPS), Goldman forecasts $1.59, roughly 5% higher than average analyst estimates.

Based on this revised assessment, the firm has established a new 12-month price target of $250. Compared to Friday's closing price of $185.41, this implies a potential upside of around 35%. However, Goldman's analysis also cautions that strong near-term quarterly results may already be partially reflected in the current share price. Consequently, investor focus is increasingly shifting toward the company's guidance for 2027 and the anticipated launch of its next-generation Rubin GPU architecture in the second half of 2026.

Hyperscaler Spending Provides Substantial Backing

Further support for Nvidia's outlook comes directly from its key customers. Leading U.S. technology giants—Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft—have provided more concrete outlines of their capital expenditure (capex) plans for 2026. Collectively, these four companies indicate a spending range of $650 to $700 billion, representing an increase of about 60% to 70% compared to the prior year.

Within this group, Amazon stands out with a planned budget of $200 billion. Alphabet follows with an estimated $175 to $185 billion. A significant portion of these funds is earmarked for AI infrastructure, specifically data centers and GPU clusters. Market observers interpret these substantial investment plans as a potential stabilizing factor for Nvidia's future orders, suggesting sustained demand for its hardware capabilities over a longer horizon.

Market Reaction and Strategic Moves

Following these announcements, Nvidia's stock advanced by 7.87% on Friday, closing at $185.41. Early trading reports indicated the shares were moving around $189.46. The company's market capitalization has once again approached approximately $4.5 trillion.

Beyond its core hardware business, Nvidia continues to expand its strategic partnerships. CEO Jensen Huang recently confirmed a deepened involvement with OpenAI. While earlier speculation hinted at a volume of $100 billion, such figures were dismissed as non-binding. The actual scale of the collaboration is now expected to be in the range of several tens of billions of dollars. The strategic objective is to solidify Nvidia's central role in developing future generative AI models.

Key Data Points:
- Goldman Sachs Q4 Revenue Forecast: $67.3 billion
- Goldman Sachs Q4 EPS Forecast: $1.59
- New Price Target: $250
- Next Earnings Report: February 25
- Confirmed Hyperscaler Capex for 2026: $650–700 billion

All eyes are now on February 25, when Nvidia releases its quarterly results. This report will reveal whether the company meets the heightened expectations set by Goldman Sachs and, crucially, how the market weighs management's commentary regarding the 2027 outlook and the progress of the Rubin platform.