By Adam Clark

Nvidia stock was edging down early Monday. The chip maker looks like it needs upbeat earnings to break out of its recent rut.

The shares were down 0.5% at $199.69 in premarket trading. Shares have largely moved sideways in the past three months, rising 1.1% over that time.

So far, the earnings season hasn't provided much of a catalyst. Despite Big Tech companies largely raising their capital expenditure forecasts, there are doubts about whether Nvidia will be the primary recipient amid soaring costs for other artificial-intelligence hardware such as memory chips.

The bigger picture is that the AI trade itself seems to be faltering amid higher borrowing costs, which means it is tough for Nvidia to make much headway. Nvidia's own efforts to get things moving by lending its balance sheet to AI companies -- what Barron's has termed "acting as a combination of venture capitalist and central bank" -- are being treated with skepticism.

"Companies that were once huge cash generators are now spending so much on AI infrastructure that they have become large borrowers," wrote Stephen Coltman, head of macro at 21shares, in a research note. "Even Nvidia, the mega cap with the largest profit margins, is seeing its credit spread widen as it is reported to be offering vendor financing and credit guarantees worth hundreds of billions to its customers."

However, Nvidia's own earnings report on Aug. 26 could provide some impetus if investors sense a bargain. The average price target on the stock across Wall Street is $314.29, according to FactSet.

Nvidia was named a Barron's stock pick on May 13, when shares were trading at $226.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

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August 03, 2026 08:19 ET (12:19 GMT)