Nvidia Q2 earnings results pushed the Nasdaq sharply higher on Thursday, while London’s blue-chip index fell as investors weighed sticky US inflation data and the prospect of rates staying elevated.
The chipmaker reported quarterly revenue of $96.2bn, well ahead of analyst forecasts of $92.2bn, according to its Nvidia Newsroom earnings press release. The actual non-GAAP gross margin for the quarter came in at 75.0%, matching the previous quarter and above the 74% guidance the company issued for the third quarter, which had briefly rattled markets after the close.
Nvidia Q2 Earnings Results: Data Centre Drives the Beat
Data centre revenue was the engine. At $89.0bn, up 117% year-on-year, the segment accounted for approximately 92% of Nvidia’s total quarterly revenue, the press release showed. GAAP earnings per diluted share were $2.46; non-GAAP diluted EPS were $2.22.
For the third quarter, Nvidia guided revenue of between $105.8bn and $110.1bn. Analysts polled by LSEG had been expecting approximately $104.2bn, according to CNBC.
The company also returned capital aggressively. Nvidia spent $26bn on share repurchases and dividends during the quarter, following an additional $80bn buyback authorisation announced in May, and plans to pay a $0.25 per share dividend, CNBC reported.
Nvidia chief financial officer Colette Kress said capex among the top five hyperscalers is expected to rise to $1.3 trillion next year from $800bn in 2026, providing a demand runway well beyond the current quarter.
Inflation Data and Jackson Hole Weigh on London
The FTSE 100 fell as US inflation figures clouded sentiment. The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, rose 3.7% in July 2026 from a year earlier, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Core PCE, excluding food and energy, rose 3.3% year-on-year in the same month.
Traders were pricing in approximately a 60% probability that the Fed holds rates at the mid-September meeting, scheduled for 15–16 September, The Hill reported.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: ‘The Footsie may have flirted with fresh closing highs yesterday, but sentiment looks set to become more cautious as investors refocus on worries about inflation proving sticky, huge government debt piles and the prospect of interest rates lingering at elevated levels.’
The backdrop sharpened focus on the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, which ran 27–29 August 2026. Fed chair Kevin Warsh delivered his keynote on 28 August; the full text, titled ‘In Our Time,’ was published on the Federal Reserve Board’s website the same day.
The 30-year Treasury yield had closed at 5.31% on 17 August 2026, its highest since 2007, and the Treasury Department intervened in the bond market two days later to attempt to cap long-term borrowing costs, according to REX Shares. That sequence gave Warsh’s remarks particular weight with bond and equity investors alike.
Oil added to the cautious mood. Brent crude fell more than 1% to below $86 per barrel on Thursday morning, as reports circulated that negotiations over a peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz were gaining pace. President Donald Trump told Fox News the passage was already operational, saying: ‘It’s a functioning Strait. Yes, every once in a while there’ll be a drone or a rocket or something shot, but it is a very functioning Strait.’
Warsh’s tone at Jackson Hole, and whether he signals further rate rises or a pause, will set the direction for both Treasuries and equities when European markets reopen on Friday.
