News

Key takeaways

• Nvidia delivered another very strong quarter, led by demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

• Guidance beat expectations, but China and high expectations kept the initial stock reaction restrained.

• The bigger investor question is now duration: how long can this spending cycle stay this strong?

Nvidia did not just report earnings on 20 May 2026. It handed investors another progress report on the artificial intelligence buildout.

The numbers were strong. Nvidia reported first-quarter revenue of 81.6 billion USD, up 85% from a year earlier. Data centre revenue, the core of the artificial intelligence story, reached 75.2 billion USD, up 92%. The company guided for second-quarter revenue of ahead of expectations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The initial after-market reaction was mildly negative, suggesting investors liked the strength but were already looking beyond the headline beat. That may sound harsh. It is also what happens when a company becomes the unofficial scoreboard for one of the largest investment themes in markets. The earnings question is no longer whether demand is real. It is whether demand can stay this strong for long enough to justify the expectations already in the share price.

Strong numbers, stricter teachers

The main result was clear: demand remains powerful.

Revenue grew 20% from the previous quarter and 85% from a year earlier. Adjusted gross margin was 75%, which means Nvidia still keeps a very large share of each sales dollar after direct production costs. That matters because it suggests customers are still paying up for performance, supply and access to Nvidia’s platform.

Nvidia also announced an additional 80 billion USD share repurchase authorisation and raised its quarterly dividend from 0.01 USD to 0.25 USD per share. That will not be the main story for growth investors, but it does show how much cash the artificial intelligence boom is creating.

The market’s restrained initial reaction is therefore less about weak results and more about the bar. Nvidia has become so important that good is not enough. Investors want proof that the cycle extends into 2027 and beyond, that margins can stay high, and that customers are not simply ordering ahead before the next chip transition.

The data centre is now the centre of gravity

Data centres are the large facilities that store, process and move digital information. Artificial intelligence has turned them into industrial assets. They need chips, memory, networking, cooling, power and land. The cloud may sound weightless, but it increasingly looks like a very expensive electricity-hungry factory.

Nvidia’s data centre compute revenue reached 60.4 billion USD, up 77% from a year earlier. Networking revenue was 14.8 billion USD, up an eyepopping 199%. That second number matters because artificial intelligence systems do not rely only on one powerful chip. They rely on many chips working together quickly. Networking is the plumbing. Without it, the palace has no running water.

This is why Nvidia’s results matter beyond Nvidia. A strong data centre update supports the broader artificial intelligence supply chain: chip manufacturers, memory companies, networking specialists, data centre operators, power equipment makers and cloud platforms. It also helps explain why the theme has moved from software excitement to infrastructure reality.

For long-term investors, that shift is important. The artificial intelligence story is no longer just about chatbots and clever demos. It is about capital expenditure, supply chains and returns on invested capital. In plain English: companies are spending vast sums, and investors now need to ask who earns attractive profits from that spending.

China is still the quiet swing factor

Nvidia said its second-quarter outlook does not assume any data centre compute revenue from China. That is a key sentence. It means the guidance beat expectations even without including a contribution from one of the world’s largest technology markets.

That makes the result more impressive, but it also shows where uncertainty remains. Export controls, product restrictions and geopolitical decisions can change Nvidia’s addressable market. Addressable market simply means the revenue opportunity a company can realistically target. For a business this large, even small changes in market access can become very large numbers.

Competition is another factor. Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, custom chips from cloud companies and new internal designs all matter. They may not remove Nvidia’s leadership quickly, but they can reduce pricing power over time. The question is not whether Nvidia faces competition. The question is whether its full system, from chips to software and networking, remains hard enough to replace.

Risks to watch

The first risk is expectations. Nvidia can report excellent numbers and still see pressure if investors expected something close to perfect. That is not unfair. It is just what happens when a stock carries a very large share of market confidence.

The second risk is customer spending. The largest cloud companies are investing heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure. If those companies slow spending, delay orders or struggle to turn artificial intelligence services into revenue, the whole supply chain could feel it.

The third risk is geopolitics. Watch China commentary, export licences and any change in the company’s assumption around China data centre revenue. In this story, policy can move faster than a product roadmap.

Investor playbook

• If shares move lower after strong results, compare the move with guidance, margins and China assumptions.
• If margins stay around current levels, it suggests Nvidia still has pricing power and customer urgency.
• If networking keeps growing faster than compute, it supports the idea that artificial intelligence systems are scaling.
• If cloud companies slow capital spending, stress-test the wider artificial intelligence supply chain, not just Nvidia.

The neat ending

Nvidia’s quarter shows that the artificial intelligence buildout remains very real, very large and very profitable for the companies sitting closest to the infrastructure layer. But the market’s first reaction also shows that investors have become harder to impress. That is healthy.

Great companies still need to clear great expectations, and Nvidia’s report is no longer just about one quarter of revenue. It is about the length, profitability and resilience of an entire investment cycle. The lesson for investors is not to guess tomorrow’s share price. It is to understand the machinery behind the story, because the machinery is now the story.

This material is marketing content and should not be regarded as investment advice. Trading financial instruments carries risks and historic performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Key takeaways

• Space is becoming infrastructure, not just exploration, and a possible SpaceX IPO could draw more attention to the theme.

• Growth is spreading beyond rockets into satellites, defence, connectivity, data and the systems that make space useful.

• A shortlist helps investors map the opportunity without chasing every rocket launch or headline.

Space used to be easy to file under “science fiction, rockets and very expensive smoke.” That is changing. The space economy is becoming part of everyday infrastructure, from internet connections and weather data to defence, farming, shipping and navigation.

This matters now because the sector is no longer just about who can launch the most impressive rocket. It is about who can turn orbit into repeatable revenue. The global space economy reached USD 613 billion in 2024, according to Space Foundation, while the Satellite Industry Association reported fresh growth across satellite broadband, launches and ground equipment in 2025.

According to several news outlets, SpaceX is preparing for a possible initial public offering (IPO), with a potential Nasdaq listing as early as June 2026. Nothing is certain until it happens, and private-company IPO plans can change faster than a launch window in bad weather. But the signal matters. A SpaceX listing would likely bring more investor attention to the wider space economy, from satellites and launch systems to connectivity, defence and ground infrastructure.  For investors who want to understand how IPOs work before any potential SpaceX listing, Saxo’s guide to investing in IPO stocks offers a useful starting point: how the process works, what to watch, and why newly listed companies can be exciting but risky.

That is the reason behind Saxo’s new space economy shortlist. It is not a prediction machine, and it is not a list of “buy this now before Mars gets crowded.” It is a map. The goal is to help investors understand where listed companies sit across the value chain, from satellite operators to defence firms and the less glamorous suppliers that make the whole system work. The useful space economy is not always the shiny bit The public story of space often starts with rockets. Fair enough. Rockets are dramatic, loud and hard to ignore. But for investors, the more useful story often starts after launch.

Satellites help planes stay connected, ships navigate, farmers monitor crops, insurers assess damage, governments secure communications and consumers use location services without thinking about them. Space is quietly becoming a utility layer for the modern economy. Not quite electricity, but closer to “useful plumbing in the sky” than many people realise.

That is why the investment opportunity is broader than pure space companies. Some firms operate satellites. Some build rockets or spacecraft. Others provide aerospace systems, defence technology, sensors, chips, antennas, ground stations, software or connectivity services.

The shortlist groups this world into practical buckets: launch and space operators, satellite, data and space intelligence companies, defence and aerospace leaders, and space picks and shovels, connectivity and communications. The last bucket may sound less romantic, but investing is not a romance contest. Often, the picks and shovels are where the steadier business models live.

Why the theme is timely

The timing is not only about long-term forecasts. It is also about what is happening now.

Satellite broadband is growing quickly as companies try to connect remote areas, aircraft, ships and military users. The Satellite Industry Association said global satellite broadband subscribers rose strongly in 2025, while satellite services revenue reached USD 105 billion. That shows the sector is moving from “interesting technology” to customer demand.

In Europe, the story has an extra layer: sovereignty. The European Union’s IRIS2 programme aims to provide secure satellite communications for governments, businesses and citizens. In plain English, Europe wants more control over critical communications infrastructure. Recent updates from SES and Eutelsat show that demand is not only about consumer internet. It is also about aviation, military, maritime and secure government use.

For investors, this changes the lens. Space is not one single theme. It overlaps with defence, telecoms, transport, cybersecurity, industrial supply chains and artificial intelligence. That creates both opportunity and confusion. A shortlist helps cut through the fog, which is helpful because fog is not an investment process.

What investors can actually watch

The most important question is not whether space is exciting. It is whether companies can earn attractive returns from it.

That means watching contracts, backlog, margins and capital spending. Backlog is work already contracted but not yet delivered. It can show whether demand is becoming visible. Margins show whether growth is profitable, not just impressive in a slide deck. Capital spending matters because space infrastructure is expensive, and expensive dreams can still send invoices.

Investors can also watch customer mix. Revenue from governments, airlines, defence agencies, telecom operators and maritime clients may be more durable than revenue built only on speculative future demand. The best signal is not a big vision statement. It is a signed customer paying real money. Revolutionary, almost suspiciously practical.

The shortlist can help here by separating the theme into different business models. A satellite operator faces different risks from a defence contractor. A chip supplier has different drivers from a launch company. A data specialist depends on different customers from an aircraft connectivity provider. One theme, many moving parts.

Risks: orbit is useful, but gravity still exists

The first risk is valuation. Exciting themes often attract high expectations. When expectations rise faster than earnings, share prices can become fragile. Investors should watch whether companies are still delivering revenue growth, cash flow and margins, not only attractive stories.

The second risk is execution. Space projects face delays, technical problems, regulation and heavy upfront costs. Launch schedules can slip. Satellites can fail. Government budgets can shift. In this sector, patience is useful, but blind patience is just a subscription to disappointment.

The third risk is competition. Starlink has changed the satellite-connectivity market, and other players are trying to catch up. Some listed companies may benefit from the growth of the ecosystem, while others may see pricing pressure or older businesses decline. Eutelsat’s recent shift away from legacy video and towards low Earth orbit connectivity is a good example of how the industry is changing in real time.

Investor playbook

• Use the shortlist as a map of the value chain, not as a shopping list.
• Compare business models: operators, suppliers, defence firms and data companies carry different risks.
• Watch contracts, backlog, margins and capital spending before reacting to big headlines.
• Keep position size and diversification in mind, because theme investing can get crowded quickly.

The final orbit

Space is becoming less about escaping Earth and more about making Earth work better. That is the real investment story. The most useful parts of the space economy sit behind ordinary activities: flying, shipping, mapping, connecting, defending and measuring.

The new Saxo space economy shortlist is designed to make that hidden infrastructure easier to understand. It does not remove risk, and it does not predict the next winner. It gives investors a clearer map of the companies building, operating and enabling the space economy. In a theme full of rockets, that map may be the most grounded tool in the room.

This material is marketing content and should not be regarded as investment advice. Trading financial instruments carries risks and historic performance is not a guarantee of future results.

Key points:

• Central banks and investors now account for around 52% of total gold demand, up from roughly one-third a decade ago, making the market less dependent on price-sensitive jewellery demand.
• Reserve managers continue to accumulate gold for strategic reasons including de-dollarisation, reserve sovereignty, diversification and protection against rising fiscal debt and geopolitical fragmentation.
• Alongside safe-haven demand, concerns about inflation, debt sustainability, currency debasement and stretched asset valuations are attracting long-term portfolio flows into gold, reinforced by momentum and FOMO.
• Gold’s ability to hold firm above USD 4,500 during a period of strong equity market performance highlights resilient underlying demand, with resistance seen near the 50-day moving average around USD 4,780, followed by USD 4,850

The latest quarterly update from the World Gold Council highlights a structural shift that continues to underpin bullion at historically elevated prices: gold demand is increasingly being driven by central banks and investors, two groups that are far less price sensitive than traditional jewellery buyers. Together, official sector purchases and investment demand have risen from accounting for roughly one-third of total gold demand a decade ago to around 52% on average over the past three years, fundamentally changing the market’s demand profile. This matters because it helps explain why gold continues to find support despite having doubled in price during the past couple of years. 

While jewellery demand remains highly sensitive to price and affordability, strategic reserve managers and investors, by contrast, are buying for reasons that extend well beyond valuation. For them, gold is increasingly being treated as insurance, diversification and monetary ballast in a world facing rising debt burdens, inflation uncertainty and growing geopolitical fragmentation.

Central banks remain the structural anchor

Central bank buying has remained a major pillar of demand since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions, including the freezing of assets held by the Central Bank of Russia, fundamentally changed how reserve managers think about sovereign assets and reserve security.

That triggered a wave of official sector buying, with central banks purchasing more than 1,000 tonnes annually in each of the following three years, before demand eased modestly last year to around 850 tonnes, still historically strong. So far this year, buying remains robust, with the World Gold Council reporting net purchases of 243.7 tonnes in the first quarter, slightly above Q1 last year.

The drivers remain clear:

Reducing dependence on the U.S. dollar Reserve managers are increasingly wary of overexposure to dollar-denominated assets, particularly at a time of rising U.S. fiscal deficits, expanding debt burdens and concerns over the long-term purchasing power of fiat currencies.

Sanctions risk and reserve sovereignty The freezing of Russian reserves was a watershed moment. Gold held domestically carries no counterparty risk and remains beyond the reach of foreign sanctions or financial restrictions.

Portfolio diversification Gold offers low correlation to traditional reserve assets such as sovereign bonds, while maintaining liquidity and long-term store-of-value credentials.

Inflation and debt concerns Persistent deficits, rising debt-to-GDP ratios and repeated fiscal stimulus measures are fuelling concern about long-term currency debasement.

Geopolitical fragmentation As the global economy becomes increasingly divided into competing blocs, gold remains one of the few reserve assets that is universally accepted, politically neutral and controlled by no single government. In short, central bank buying is not about chasing price, but about reducing strategic vulnerability.

Investors are increasingly thinking the same way

What is increasingly notable is that investors, both private and institutional are arriving at much the same conclusion. Investment demand remains robust because many of the same macro concerns influencing central banks are also shaping portfolio decisions across pension funds, family offices, wealth managers and retail investors.

Similar drivers to central bank demand with a few additions:

Hard asset protection against fiscal risk Investors increasingly view gold as a hedge against unsustainable debt accumulation, policy uncertainty and the gradual erosion of fiat purchasing power.

Inflation resilience Even where headline inflation moderates, structural inflation concerns tied to energy transition spending, supply chain fragmentation, defence spending and labour shortages continue to support demand for inflation hedges.

Momentum and FOMO Gold’s strong price performance has become a driver in itself. Momentum-following investors and underallocated portfolios are increasingly being drawn into the market by fear of missing further upside.

TINA—There is no obvious safe alternative Equities remain strong, but valuations are stretched. Bonds offer income, but not always reliable diversification in an inflationary environment. Cash remains vulnerable to real purchasing power erosion. Gold increasingly sits in the middle as a liquid hard asset hedge.

Short-term outlook: rangebound, but resilient

From a technical perspective, gold remains in consolidation mode after its recent correction. Support has in the last two weeks been established ahead of USD 4,500, while initial resistance is seen at the 50-day moving average near USD 4,780, followed by stronger resistance around USD 4,850.

Following the January to March 1,500-dollar slump gold has since held firm during a period of exceptional equity market strength, something that under normal circumstances might have triggered deeper profit-taking. Instead, continued central bank demand, lingering investor unease over inflation, slowing growth and mounting fiscal debt concerns have kept dips relatively shallow.

For now, gold appears to be catching its breath rather than losing its footing, and importantly, the buyers that increasingly matter are looking beyond price.