Outrageous Predictions
A Fortune 500 company names an AI model as CEO
Charu Chanana
Chief Investment Strategist
Investment Strategist
Nvidia is the cleanest read on whether big AI spending stays strong.
Software earnings test pricing power as AI turns some products into “features”.
Berkshire’s HALO offers durability when tech stories feel fast and fragile.
Markets are in a “prove it” mood. Artificial intelligence (AI) still excites investors, but the debate shifts from vision to cash: who pays, how much, and for how long? This week’s earnings help answer that question.
This week’s earnings give three different angles on that reality. Nvidia shows whether the AI build-out still has real budgets behind it. Software names like Snowflake, Salesforce, Workday and Intuit show whether AI becomes a paid upgrade or a free feature that squeezes pricing. And Berkshire’s HALO (heavy asset, low obsolescence risk) angle reminds investors that when tech feels fast and fragile, slow-changing assets can look like a quiet shelter.
Nvidia is the receipt printerNvidia sells graphics processing units (GPUs), the specialised chips that run most modern AI workloads.
The market’s core worry is simple: big cloud buyers might slow capital expenditure after a strong data centre build-out. If that happens, chip demand can stay “good” while expectations fall from “amazing” to “merely excellent”. Markets price the gap.
Nvidia’s fiscal year 2026 ended on 25 January 2026, so this report is a fresh check on demand as 2026 begins.
On the call, focus on three plain signals. Demand visibility (are customers still queueing?). Pricing power (does the mix move toward higher-value systems and networking?). Customer mood (do comments sound confident about the next six months, or cautious?).
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms sell subscriptions, often priced per user, or “seat”. AI now challenges that model from both sides.
AI can help software, by improving products and automating work inside them. But AI can also hurt software, by turning a point tool into a feature inside someone else’s bundle. When that happens, customers still get the job done, but they may pay less.
That is why this week’s software cluster matters. Workday sells tools for managing employees and finance. Salesforce sells customer relationship management (CRM) software and is pushing “AI agents” to handle tasks. Snowflake sells a data platform, where spending should rise if AI use rises. Intuit sells tax and accounting tools, where small business confidence matters.
Two things tend to tell the truth. Net revenue retention: do existing customers spend more over time? And the key sentence: “we can charge for this.” If management cannot say it clearly, the market will do it for them.
HALO stands for heavy asset, low obsolescence risk. It means businesses where value comes from physical networks, regulation, and habit, not being the newest interface.
Berkshire’s results on 28 February 2026 are its first since Warren Buffett retired and Greg Abel took over as chief executive officer. Berkshire also publishes its annual report that day, including Abel’s first annual letter to shareholders.
The AI link is practical. AI needs power, cooling, and logistics. Data centres run on electricity contracts and concrete. So when investors worry about capex swings or software disruption, HALO can feel like a safety haven you can touch.
Nvidia can confirm demand but hint that supply is catching up fast, pressuring pricing. Software can talk up AI while customers push back on price rises, showing up as weaker renewals or discounting. And HALO can lag if markets snap back into full risk-on mode.
Use earnings to test demand and pricing power, not to chase one-day moves.
Separate “AI helps my customers” from “AI replaces my product”. Pricing power is the difference.
Balance the stack: chips, software, and infrastructure can each win in different AI scenarios.
AI investing is moving from imagination to budgeting. The key question is not “can this technology do the job?” It is “who pays, how much, and for how long?” Nvidia gives the cleanest receipt because chips only ship when someone funds the build-out. Software then has to show that AI is a paid upgrade, not a free feature that gets bundled away.
Berkshire’s HALO offers a different comfort: assets that age slowly, like railroads and power lines, and still matter even if the hottest app changes next quarter. This week’s earnings will not end the AI debate. They will show which parts have cash behind them.
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