Nvidia (NVDA) shares closed the week up more than 10% at $223.96, buoyed by a major deal with SpaceX and shifting sentiment around AI infrastructure. The rally helped the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gain over 8% for the period.
The catalyst came during SpaceX’s inaugural earnings call, where Elon Musk stated the company would build data centers on Earth and in orbit using Nvidia chips exclusively. SpaceX plans to deploy Nvidia’s Vera Rubin-based NVL72 rackscale systems for ground-based operations and launch modified versions into orbit. This exclusive partnership strengthens Nvidia’s position in the booming AI infrastructure market.
However, a report from The Information indicated Nvidia is testing reduced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) configurations for its upcoming Rubin Ultra chip due to a global memory shortage. The Rubin Ultra was expected to feature 1TB of HBM but may be limited to 192GB or 256GB, down from the current 288GB in top-of-the-line Rubin chips. Despite these concerns, Nvidia’s stock held its gains.
Institutional interest remains high—Steelhead Wealth Management added 3,856 shares, and institutions now control 65.27% of NVDA. The company’s May earnings beat estimates with EPS of $1.87 and revenue of $81.61 billion, up 85.2% year-over-year, along with an $80 billion buyback plan and a dividend hike to $0.25 per share.
On the broader market, SpaceX (SPCX) also jumped 15.8% after an Argus upgrade to “buy” with a $160 target and strong quarterly results, including AI cloud contracts worth up to $20.8 billion. This dual surge in AI-related stocks underscores the growing demand for advanced computing chips, which can have ripple effects on the crypto sector. Tightening GPU supply chains may increase costs for cryptocurrency miners who rely on these components, potentially impacting mining economics for proof-of-work altcoins.
