What’s going on here?

Nvidia just handed investors a box of chocolates: rich earnings, a smooth forecast, and barely a hint of bitterness – even with an $8 billion China-shaped hole in the middle.

What does this mean?

The heart-shaped quarterly update showed revenue up 69%, profit up 26%, and data center sales – Nivida’s AI engine – up 73% at $39.1 billion. (Even the firm’s long-forgotten gaming division was on a hot streak, bringing in $3.8 billion.) Plus, the chipmaker set the table for $45 billion in next-quarter revenue – jaw-breakingly solid, even after subtracting $8 billion in lost sales, thanks to new US restrictions on Nvidia’s China-bound H20 chips. Demand’s still red-hot, and investors barely flinched – the stock jumped 5% immediately after the news. The bounce was helped by the fact that Wall Street had been keeping its distance from tech, and Nvidia’s stock was temptingly sitting almost 10% below its January highs. Not everyone’s sweet on Nvidia, though: Chinese regulators are probing its market behavior, and any long-term lockout could bite.

Why should I care?

For markets: When in doubt, roll out a three-point plan.

Nvidia is facing its toughest test yet. Last month, US export bans slammed the door on high-end chip sales to China, forcing the firm to choke down a $5.5 billion inventory loss – and as much as $15 billion in lost sales for the year. But Nvidia isn’t just licking its wounds: the firm finally rolled out its simplified Blackwell processor after months of delays. And now, it’s laser-focused on three major goals. First: keep Microsoft, Meta, and the other big dogs happily stocked with lime-green chips. Second: land some monster government deals with countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. And third: launch a cheap-and-cheerful chip for China – where Nvidia’s market share has slipped from 95% to 50% – that can both dodge export restrictions and outshine the local competition.

What’s going on here?

Data out on Tuesday showed that US consumer confidence picked up by the most in four years this month, showing that Americans might finally be feeling lucky again.

What does this mean?

Folk in the US had only been growing more pessimistic about the economy this year. But May marked a stark about-face: encouraged by the US-China tariff deal, consumer confidence rose for the first time since November – and not by a little, either. The uptick marked the biggest monthly increase in four years. Although, that is coming from April’s near five-year low. And even after the rebound, the reading’s still sitting below last year’s average. But investors saw the glass as half-full nonetheless, initially sending the S&P 500 up 2% and the Nasdaq up 2.4%.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: This could be catnip for the fat cats.

Retail investors have stocked up on US stocks this year. According to JPMorgan Chase, they bought $50 billion worth between April 8th and May 14th, and then spent another $5 billion on May 19th alone. That’s their biggest daily shopping spree since records began, a decade ago. At the same time, data from Barclays showed institutional investors staying closer to the sidelines. But if data like this tempts them in, their purchases could help keep those indexes rallying.

The bigger picture: Blink and you’ll miss it.

Investors’ optimism could disappear as quickly as it arrived. About half of the survey’s responses came after the US and China reduced their mutual tariffs – a temporary truce, remember, not a permanent solution. A change in policy or negative economic data could snap investors straight back to reality. (Oh, there goes gravity.) And more survey respondents did say that job-hunting is proving tough, suggesting their newfound confidence may be fragile. A diversified investment portfolio, then, is still a sensible approach while the jury’s out on the so-called Land of Opportunity.