NVIDIA Faces Rumors of Delays Ahead of Critical Earnings Report, Analysts Cautiously Optimistic

NVIDIA's upcoming Q2 FY2025 earnings report on August 28 is highly anticipated, with analysts cautiously optimistic despite rumors of potential delays in the company’s new Blackwell architecture. Melius Research notes muted "whispers" ahead of what could be a pivotal event for the tech sector.

Rumors of Delays Cloud NVIDIA’s Q2 FY2025 Earnings Report, Analysts Weigh Potential Impact on Outlook

According to the most recent commentary from Wedbush Securities, NVIDIA is scheduled to report its earnings for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2025 on August 28. This event is shaping up to be the "most important" in years for the technology sector. Additionally, investors are predictably apprehensive, particularly in light of the persistent rumors regarding the GPU manufacturer's purported difficulties in establishing the mainstream production cadence of its new Blackwell architecture.

On August 23, Melius Research added a touch of color to the ongoing monotony of rumors and counter-rumors surrounding NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU architecture.

According to unverified reports, NVIDIA's new architecture is purportedly plagued by a design defect associated with its "interconnect" technique. On the other hand, NVIDIA continues to refute the notion of any production disruption. Nevertheless, analysts have continued incorporating a potential delay in Blackwell shipments into their respective theses for NVIDIA shares.

Returning to the subject, Melius Research acknowledges that its analysts were apprehensive upon learning of a potential delay in Blackwell shipments:

"Yes, we were concerned when we first heard about issues with the new Blackwell chips in the supply chain and from customers — that included commentary around a 3-month delay due to potential overheating, a design issue, and some packaging issues."

Nevertheless, the research house thinks that this delay, even if it occurs, does not significantly affect NVIDIA's bullish thesis, particularly given the continued demand for LLM training. Melius Research does identify the slowly increasing demand for inference as a potential area of concern for the future.

Strong Demand for H100 and H200 GPUs Expected to Offset Blackwell Concerns, Analysts Cautiously Optimistic

Furthermore, the research house anticipates that the robust demand for NVIDIA's H100 and H200 series GPUs will more than offset any Blackwell-related sales deficit:

"Nvidia's sales of H100s and H200s seem to be benefiting from brisk efforts at Meta to train Llama 4, OpenAI for GPT-5, and (the remaining) well-funded labs. When training is brisk —you need Nvidia."

Intriguingly, there is a consensus regarding the Hopper architecture's effectiveness on Wall Street. By issuing investment notes on August 22, Rosenblatt and KeyBanc reiterated their commitment to this perspective.

Melius Research then endeavors to moderate expectations by observing that, even though Triple Lindy is feasible, it is optional in the grand scheme. This term refers to Rodney Dangerfield's iconic swimming dive in the 1986 comedy Back to School, which involved three springboards.

To accomplish a Triple Lindy, NVIDIA must "beat F2Q25 by $2B, guide up F3Q25 by $2B q/q, and say enough to imply that F4Q25 grows q/q by another ~$2B. Nvidia did this last quarter with one of the best conference calls we've ever heard."

Melius Research acknowledges that it is only hearing muted "whispers" leading up to the earnings announcement next week, which only serves to moderate the likelihood of a Triple Lindy. This is a critical point.