Nvidia faces earnings test Wednesday amid AI server price hikes

Nvidia ↘ 0.98% is set to report fiscal second-quarter 2027 earnings on Wednesday, August 26, in what has become the most closely watched event of the current earnings season. Analysts project revenue near $92 billion — nearly doubling year-over-year — while the company navigates a parallel development: price increases exceeding 15% on AI server systems driven by surging memory costs.

Price Hikes Ripple Through Supply Chain

Bloomberg reported on August 22 that Nvidia has informed server manufacturers of price increases affecting systems built around its next-generation Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell platforms, with hikes varying by chip generation and memory configuration. The increases primarily affect units scheduled to ship in early 2027 and stem from rising costs of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory supplied by Samsung, SK Hynix ↗ 0.20%, and Micron ↘ 0.77%.chosun+1

Server manufacturers supplying Microsoft ↗ 0.43%, Google Alphabet Inc. ↗ 1.05%, and Oracle ↗ 3.10% have been notified of the changes. Micron has indicated that industry supply is likely to remain substantially below demand through and beyond 2026 as AI workloads require more memory per server.cryptorank

Earnings Expectations and Market Dynamics

Wall Street consensus calls for earnings per share near $2.09 on revenue of approximately $91.9 billion, with data center sales continuing to drive growth after surging 92% in the prior quarter to $75.2 billion. Jefferies has offered a more bullish projection of $95 billion in revenue for the quarter.moomoo+2

Yet strong results alone may not move the stock. In seven of the last eight earnings reports, Nvidia shares have declined in the immediate aftermath, including after the May report when the company beat expectations and raised guidance. The stock fell from around $220 before May's announcement to roughly $190 a month later.chosun+1

Beyond the Quarter: Rubin, Financing, and Power

Investors are focused on longer-term questions that will shape the earnings call discussion. Chief among them is whether the next-generation Rubin architecture can ramp faster than Blackwell did, with Jefferies projecting Rubin could account for over 40% of GPU revenue by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027.moomoo

Concerns about "circular financing" have also intensified. Nvidia has committed credit support for OpenAI's Ohio data center project — guaranteeing part of the rent and power costs on a facility it will exclusively supply with chips — raising questions about how much future demand requires Nvidia's own balance sheet to underwrite. Reuters has reported growing investor concern about circular funding flows between Nvidia and its customers.chosun+1

The earnings call arrives during a week that also features Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first Jackson Hole keynote on Friday and the release of the July core PCE price index on Wednesday, adding macroeconomic crosscurrents to an already high-stakes moment for AI-linked equities.tradingkey