As the fourth-quarter 2025 earnings announcement season winds down, Nvidia (NVDA), as usual, will provide the grand finale with its report scheduled for February 25. In the wake of Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) news of 123% sales growth, Nvidia is expected to dazzle the investment world once again.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) gave us another clue about tech earnings when it reported January sales up 37%, its fastest growth rate in several months, and well above its 2026 guidance for 30% sales growth. TSM makes high-end chips for Microsoft Surface laptops, Apple computers, and Nvidia's GPUs, so this strong sales growth tells us the AI boom is accelerating, which bodes well for Nvidia's guidance.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a speech at the Munich Security Conference that was well-received with a standing ovation. Many European officials appreciated Rubio's speech but clarified that they intend to stick to their NetZero carbon emission goals and want to be at the negotiating table when it comes to Ukraine and Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron has been openly speaking about how President Trump wants to break up the EU. Macron needs an external opponent since Marine Le Pen controls the French Parliament, and Macron only controls a minority of voters. The EU elections in 2027 are supposed to elect many anti-EU parties, so in the end, it appears that Macron is just trying to stir up his base and other proponents of the EU.
There is a rift between France and Germany that is destabilizing the EU. However, Germany and Italy have formed an alliance near-term since their respective manufacturing industries do business with each other. Poland is the star in the EU with robust economic growth. A Polish representative at the Munich Security Conference disagreed with the U.S. policy on the EU's Net Zero goal, which is a bit ironic since Poland burns a lot of coal for electricity. However, Poland's cheaper electricity is helping it grow, so maybe that is why it likes the EU's oppressive emission rules since in the end, it helps divert manufacturing to Poland.
Iran has apparently proposed a pause in uranium enrichment and even proposed possible business deals with the U.S. Naturally, this is not what the U.S. wants in its negotiations with Iran. President Trump said, “I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” and added, “They want to make a deal.” Due to the perception of some progress, gold prices have moderated a bit even though any final deal between Iran and the U.S. is unlikely at this time.