Nvidia Goes Full Stack

Hey Superheroes,

Inflation’s picking up pace again. Australia’s Monthly CPI Indicator rose 2.8% in the year to July – up from 1.9% the month before and the fastest annual pace since mid-2024. The biggest culprit? Power bills – which spiked 13% after NSW and ACT households saw their federal government energy rebates end. Grocery prices and rents also crept higher. 

Even cocoa’s caught up in the chaos… chocoholics are now paying 14% more than they were last year. 🍫

Meanwhile over in the U.S., GDP growth was revised up to 3.3% in Q2, boosted by stronger exports and resilient consumer spending. And in Equity Land, Nvidia’s earnings blew past market expectations as the AI gold rush keeps building momentum.

Let’s get into it.

Nvidia’s AI Supremacy Hits Overdrive

Nvidia is cementing its role as the beating heart of the AI economy.

The chipmaker posted a blockbuster Q2 FY26 result with revenue jumping 56% year-on-year to US$46.7 billion. Net income surged 59% to US$26.4 billion while gross margins climbed to a sky-high 72.4%.

The data centre business was the hero again, delivering US$41.1 billion in revenue. This was driven by sky-high demand for Nvidia’s H100 chips, the workhorses behind generative AI, robotics and supercomputing.

🧠 Blackwell leads the charge

A big contributor this quarter was Blackwell. Nvidia’s next-gen AI platform that is already being rolled out by global cloud providers and enterprise customers. It drove a 17% quarter-on-quarter jump in data centre sales and helped offset the impact of export controls to China.

Nvidia said it sold no H20 chips to China in Q2 but still cleared US$650 million in restricted inventory by shifting stock elsewhere.

💸 Returns ramp up

The company returned US$24.3 billion to shareholders in H1 FY26 (in both dividends and buybacks) and topped it off with an additional US$60 billion buyback authorisation announced this week.

Looking ahead, Q3 revenue is forecast to hit US$54 billion. Operating costs are expected to rise as Nvidia scales up R&D for its Rubin AI platform. Gross margins are tipped to hit 73.5%.

As investors wonder how long Nvidia’s dominance can last, the company isn’t slowing down – it’s expanding its AI ecosystem, deploying infrastructure across Europe and powering OpenAI’s latest open-weight models. 

Qantas Shares Take Flight on Record Jet Order

Qantas has its swagger back. The Flying Kangaroo posted a massive A$1.61 billion net profit for FY25 – its second-biggest ever – and shares surged 9% to a record high.

Jetstar helped power the rebound with a 55% jump in earnings, while five new Qantas routes (including Perth–Paris) helped lift international capacity. The airline also placed a jumbo order for 20 extra Airbus A321XLRs, signalling intent for long-haul growth.

✈️ Growth meets reinvestment

The airline now has 48 of the new jets on order. They’ll come with lie-flat business seats and longer range, boosting comfort and efficiency across key routes.

Underlying group earnings came in at A$2.39 billion. Domestic travel’s holding firm, corporate demand is back near pre-COVID levels, and loyalty and freight both delivered solid gains.

💳 Shareholders cash in, culture still in focus

Qantas declared a 16.5 cent final dividend plus a 9.9 cent special dividend. It’s also offering a new employee share scheme for 25,000 workers as part of an internal reset.

But it’s not all tailwinds. Debt has crept up, domestic earnings dipped 14%, and the airline is still repairing its reputation after a A$90 million penalty over unlawful job cuts.

Still, with shares up 28% year to date, investors are backing CEO Vanessa Hudson to keep the recovery flying high.

🔦  Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

PRICE WAR PAINS WOOLIES: Woolworths has lost over A$5 billion in market value as shoppers shift to Coles. FY25 profits dropped nearly 20% to A$1.4 billion, and shelf price cuts of 500 items are expected to cost the company A$100 million. Meanwhile, Coles surged to a record valuation of A$31 billion, outpacing Woolies on growth and margins.

LITHIUM WASHOUT: Pilbara Minerals posted a full-year net loss of A$196 million – well below consensus – as lithium prices fell 43%. Revenue dropped 39% to A$769 million. The company pointed to rising costs and JV write-downs but remains confident in long-term lithium demand as new supply tightens.

TELIX TUMBLES: Telix Pharmaceuticals shares sank 20.7% after the FDA flagged supply chain deficiencies in its new kidney cancer imaging agent, TLX250-CDx. The biotech says the issues are fixable and don’t affect current revenue guidance, but approval timelines are now uncertain.

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