Nvidia's big day is here

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Halfway to the weekend! Capri Sun is selling giant jugs for customers whose appetites — but not tastes — have grown up. (Or maybe they're still struggling to get those yellow straws through the pouches.)

We're also running a Memorial Day sale for 80% off our Business Insider subscription. More on that here.

In today's big story, all eyes are on if Nvidia's earnings report will send its shares surging even higher.

What's on deck:

• Markets: We could be on the cusp of another crypto ETF getting approved.
• Tech: A new streaming bundle's price offers clues about the economics of the industry.
• Business: The dawn of stupid neighborhood names is upon us.

But first, here comes Nvidia.

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The big story

AI, for better or worse

The stock market's darling takes center stage today when Nvidia reports earnings after the bell.

No company has captivated investors quite like Nvidia over the past year. Even amid a bullish market, the AI chipmaker has stood out.

Nvidia's performance reads more like a meme stock than a company with a market cap north of $2.3 trillion. This year alone it's up nearly 100%.

But can it keep climbing?

Business Insider's Matthew Fox has a rundown on what Wall Street expects from Nvidia. Even with its upcoming release of a next-generation chip potentially dimming demand for its current chips, some analysts see Nvidia still having room to run.

As complex as stock analysis can be sometimes, the case for Nvidia is fairly simple. Big Tech has big plans — and budgets — for AI. The only way to get there is using Nvidia's chips.

It might not always be that way. The Financial Times recently reported Nvidia's rivals and customers are supporting an effort to break the company's dominance in the space.

But for now, it's Nvidia or bust.

Elsewhere in AI land, things aren't going as swimmingly.

The buzz from OpenAI's humanlike voice feature for ChatGPT has quickly faded. Self-congratulations quickly turned to backtracking after Scarlett Johansson threatened legal action over how "eerily similar" one of ChatGPT's voices is to hers.

On the one hand, AI being accused of misusing creative work isn't new. (Not that that makes it OK.)

But tussling with Johansson is particularly risky, writes BI's Eammon Jacobs. The actor went head-to-head with Disney over the release of "Black Widow" and secured a settlement.

It also begs the question: Are we sure these OpenAI people are as smart as we think? BI's Katie Notopoulos has more on that.

Even if Johansson doesn't escalate things — OpenAI already pulled the voice — it's another setback for a company looking to gain people's trust that has plenty of skeptics, including its own former executive.

It's also an example of what some allege is OpenAI's "ask forgiveness, not permission" strategy, writes BI's Hasan Chowdhury. (It's giving "move fast and break things.")

3 things in markets

1. Wall Street's biggest pessimist isn't backing down. JPMorgan's Marko Kolanovic is the lone top strategist among the big banks predicting a market downturn. He recently doubled down on his take that the S&P 500 will fall about 20%. "We do not see equities as attractive investments at the moment and we don't see a reason to change our stance," Kolanovic wrote.
2. The crypto world is getting excited about another ETF. Approval for an ethereum ETF could come as soon as this week, sending the price of the cryptocurrency surging more than 20%. It could also be a step toward further legitimizing bitcoin, and the wider crypto market, according to one expert.
3. China dumped a record amount of US bonds last quarter. The country sold $53.3 billion worth of Treasurys and agency bonds over the first three months of 2024, Bloomberg reported. The acceleration is another symptom of deteriorating trade relations between Beijing and Washington.

3 things in tech

1. We have some theories about the discount for Comcast's new streaming bundle. For $15 a month you can get Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV+, which is about $8 cheaper than if you bought them separately. One reason could be subscribers coming from broadband companies, like Comcast, are less likely to churn.
2. ICYMI: Here's what went down at Microsoft Build. At its annual developer conference, the company unveiled Team Copilot, which will bring its AI agent to Microsoft Teams chats and meetings. OpenAI's Sam Altman also made a surprise appearance to talk about GPT-4o and offer advice to founders and developers.
3. How the leaders of the world's biggest tech companies spend their spare time. From Mark Zuckerberg's newfound love of the UFC, to Elon Musk's obsession with gaming, to Bill Gates' luxury car collection, here's a list of wealthy tech execs' favorite hobbies.

3 things in business

1. Neighborhood names are getting much, much dumber. You may have noticed that in booming cities, the names of neighborhoods are getting weirder — take Denver's RiNo, SoBo, LoDo, and LoHi areas, for example. It's all an attempt by builders to redevelop neighborhoods in their image.
2. Trump's proposed tariffs could cost Americans $500 billion a year. Researchers at the Peterson Institute warned Trump's planned taxes on imports could have households spending an additional $1,500 each year. They also said the plan would hit lower-income households harder.
3. These are the most affordable cities to buy a home in the US. SmartAsset identified 12 areas where the median home price is below $175,000 and no higher than 2.5 years' worth of local incomes. The Midwest dominated the top of the list.

In other news

• Trump rests his brief, tumultuous hush-money defense without testifying. Prosecutors turned his key witness against him.
• Gen Z to older workers: We're just like you.
• I became a data analyst and grew my salary 5x without working in Big Tech. Non-tech companies offer more flexibility and less stress.

What's happening today

• Today's earnings: Nvidia, Target, and other companies are reporting.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London.