WS #7828

The dominant narrative from the previous window (NVIDIA earnings, Intuit layoffs) is now confirmed with hard data. NVIDIA reported a massive beat: Q1 revenue $81.6B (beat by $2.65B), EPS $1.87 (beat by $0.10), Q2 guidance $89.18B-$92.82B (above $86.62B consensus), an $80B buyback authorization, and a dividend increase from $0.01 to $0.25. This is a high-significance positive for NVDA and the broader AI/semiconductor complex, though initial after-hours price action was muted as expectations were extremely high. Conversely, Intuit beat Q3 estimates but announced a 17% workforce cut (~3,000 jobs) and $300M-$340M in restructuring charges, sending shares down 11% after hours. This counters the positive earnings beat and signals AI-driven disruption in enterprise software. Other notable earnings beats include EnerSys (Q4 EPS $3.19 beat by $0.20, revenue $988M beat by $14.08M), StepStone Group (EPS $0.57 beat by $0.07, revenue $588.6M beat by $296.49M), and Nordson (Q2 EPS $2.86 beat $2.82, raised FY guidance). On the geopolitical front, the US charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with murder over the 1996 downing of two planes, escalating US-Cuba tensions. Ukrainian drone strikes continue to disrupt Russian oil refining capacity, with reports that Russia has lost a quarter of its refining capacity. The Iran situation remains stable with no new escalation in this window. The NVDA earnings are the highest-impact event for the next 1-8 hours, likely driving a tech rally, while INTU's layoffs may weigh on enterprise software names.