0827 | Nvidia Rises on AI Demand Guidance; Salesforce Up 22% on Earnings, Anthropic Partnership

Mia: Welcome to After Market on Bri Radio. I'm Mia.

Milo: And I'm Milo. We're tracking a big day on Wall Street, headlined by Nvidia's post-earnings surge.

Mia: We'll also get into Salesforce's strong quarter and expanded AI partnership, plus moves in gold and silver, and fresh retail results from Gap, the dollar-store chains, and Best Buy.

Mia: Nvidia led the market on Thursday, with shares rising after chipmaker revenue guidance reassured investors that AI demand will stay strong. The blockbuster outlook added more than four hundred billion dollars to Nvidia's market value and lifted tech stocks and key equity indexes along with it — the S&P 500 rose even though every other sector fell, because that Nvidia-driven rally offset the broad-based weakness.

Milo: It's worth noting the bullish sales outlook stretched out to 2028, reinforcing confidence in the AI trade and pushing US equity futures higher. Bank of America doubled down on Nvidia stock, and separately the company is bolstering support for Chinese open AI models while warning of a White House crackdown. On the earnings side, Nvidia says it's building an ecosystem that can't fail.

Milo: The AI wave carried over into software, where Salesforce beat expectations on second-quarter earnings, announced an expanded AI partnership with Anthropic, and saw its shares jump twenty-two percent — the stock's second-best day ever — leading a software rally.

Mia: Cybersecurity followed the same pattern. CrowdStrike posted its best day ever, jumping eleven percent on a record second quarter, and its shares have surged sixty-one percent this year to new highs. The company tied that strength to what it called a Mythos moment driving an AI cyber wave. Okta also surged after topping estimates, though reports put the exact gain at nearly twenty-nine percent or around twenty percent. Sources say AI adoption is pushing customers to spend more on cyber tools like CrowdStrike and Okta, because the threat from frontier AI is fueling demand for advanced security and identity protection. Separately, Synopsys stock popped today.

Milo: In commodities, gold and silver futures moved modestly Thursday after fresh inflation data, while US Treasury yields edged higher for a second day as investors positioned for Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's Friday Jackson Hole speech. Gold December futures opened at four thousand six hundred fifty dollars an ounce, down a tenth of a percent, while silver September futures opened barely higher.

Mia: The Fed's preferred gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures report, showed sticky July prices year over year, though month-over-month data pointed to a slower pace of increase. It largely met analyst expectations, but it amplified division inside the central bank over whether to raise rates next month — and holding rates steady in September could support further gold gains. So the open question is whether the Fed raises or holds, with Warsh's first official speech as Fed leader the key signal and some expecting a hawkish tone. Year over year, gold is up almost thirty-seven percent and silver up seventy-six percent. And the Fed's Hammack said now is the time for the central bank to act — setting up what looks like a real split going into that speech.

Mia: In retail, Gap shares jumped twelve percent Thursday after the company announced a new Old Navy chief executive officer. The move came as Old Navy, one of Gap's brands, reported a decline in comparable sales for its most recent quarter — and the company said the new CEO was brought in specifically to revive that struggling brand.

Milo: Dollar-store chains gave diverging views on the state of US retail, which is facing increasing economic challenges. Dollar Tree mostly met Wall Street expectations last quarter and left its sales-growth outlook for the year unchanged, while Dollar General lifted its view for annual revenue after a quarterly sales beat. So the guidance split: Dollar Tree held steady, Dollar General moved higher.

Mia: And Best Buy raised its full fiscal-year outlook Thursday after a stronger-than-expected first half and beat quarterly estimates. Yet despite the raised outlook and the earnings beat, Best Buy's stock still fell.

Milo: So today's big story is the AI trade carrying the market — Nvidia added more than four hundred billion dollars on blowout guidance, and that energy spread into software and cybersecurity.

Mia: And beyond the AI rally, we had Gold and silver reacting to inflation data ahead of that Jackson Hole speech, plus a divided retail picture with Gap, the dollar stores, and Best Buy.

Milo: Thanks for joining us on After Market. We'll catch you next time.