July PCE data was due before the bell on Wednesday, August 26th, putting a fresh inflation read in front of Wall Street before Nvidia’s second-quarter results after the close. Josh Lipton opened the morning preview on On Asking for and called it “a big day of earnings.”
Wall Street was looking for another beat and raise from Nvidia, alongside a 96% jump in sales from a year ago and data center revenue that was expected to top 85 billion. That setup left traders with two pressure points in one session: a price read before the open and an AI earnings check after it.
Josh Lipton on Wednesday
Josh Lipton previewed the stories expected to make headlines on Wednesday, August 26th, and his line was the cleanest signal of the day’s order of battle: “It's a big day of earnings, but all eyes are on Nvidia reporting second quarter results after the market's closed.” The timing mattered because July PCE data was scheduled for the same morning, so the inflation read would land before the market could digest the company numbers.
That sequence gave investors a simple but crowded playbook. First came the inflation print, then the earnings flow after the bell, with Nvidia carrying the heaviest weight because Wall Street was looking for another beat and raise. In practical terms, the session could shift from a macro trade to a stock-specific one within hours.
July PCE before the bell
July PCE data was expected before the bell, and economists forecast headline PCE to rise after falling at 10th of a percent in June. Core PCE was also seen rising on a month of a month basis. The setup pointed to a hotter monthly read than June, even before any company released a number.
10th of a percent in June gave traders a low base to compare against, so even a modest rise in headline PCE would change the near-term inflation picture. Core PCE moving higher on a monthly basis would matter for the same reason: it would suggest price pressure was not confined to one narrow slice of the data.
Nvidia and Crowdstrike after close
Nvidia was scheduled to report second quarter results after the market's close, and Crowdstrike was also scheduled to report results. The market focus stayed on Nvidia because the company was expected to deliver a 96% jump in sales from a year ago, with data center revenue seen topping 85 billion.
96% sales growth is not the kind of number that leaves much room for a miss on expectations. If Nvidia delivered the beat and raise Wall Street wanted, the stock would have one path; if the results came in short of that setup, the afternoon inflation data would not be the only thing driving the tape.
