Nvidia's whisper numbers outpace analyst estimates ahead of earnings

Nvidia is expected to report strong quarterly earnings Wednesday, but Wall Street's focus is on unofficial "whisper numbers" that are substantially higher than formal analyst estimates due to the company's history of outperformance. Formally, analysts expect second-quarter sales of $92.3 billion, earnings per share of $2.09, and third-quarter guidance of $104.1 billion. However, traders anticipate third-quarter guidance could reach $107 billion to $110 billion, with JPMorgan seeing potential second-quarter revenue of $94-95 billion. Some trading desks question whether a beat-and-raise will move the stock, instead highlighting capital allocation as key. Bank of America suggests Nvidia could follow Apple's post-2012 playbook by increasing buybacks to over 75% of free cash flow.