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Shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) slipped .5% today, coinciding with a noticeable shift in retail investor sentiment on platforms like Reddit and X from bullish to almost perfectly neutral. The company’s sentiment score dropped from 64/100 to 53/100 over a 12-hour window ending December 9, crossing into neutral territory for the first time in weeks.
The shift comes despite Nvidia reporting stellar Q3 results on November 19, with revenue hitting $57.0B (up 62.5% YoY) and data center sales reaching $51.2B (up 66% YoY). The disconnect between fundamentals and sentiment reflects growing anxiety about competitive threats and policy uncertainty.
The pressure from Google announcing the sale of their TPU chips can not be ignored as a factor here as well. The news has sent a chill across Nvidia investors, as they see the lower P/KW performance of Google’s ASIC chips as a competitive advantage.
CEO Warnings Fuel Reddit Skepticism
The bearish tone driving sentiment lower centers on Jensen Huang’s warnings about China’s AI capabilities. A viral post on r/StockMarket, garnering 1,826 upvotes and 526 comments, synthesized Huang’s concerns into a stark competitive assessment. Top comments reveal investor anxiety, with one user noting: “The US is losing its edge in AI infrastructure. China’s building data centers faster than we can approve permits.” Another commenter warned: “If we don’t wake up, we’ll be buying Chinese AI chips in 5 years instead of selling them ours.”
There are a dire warnings from Nvidia CEO
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This narrative is particularly potent given Nvidia’s 53% profit margin depends on maintaining technological leadership. And there are real reasons for concern:
- China’s energy capacity for AI infrastructure is roughly double the US, critical for running chip fabs and data centers
- Infrastructure projects in China complete in months versus years in the US, accelerating deployment advantages
- Open source AI dominance by Chinese developers threatens Nvidia’s proprietary ecosystem and pricing power
China Export Approval Creates Mixed Signals
Trump’s Monday announcement allowing H200 chip exports to “approved customers” in China provided a bullish counterpoint, but with complications. The deal requires 25% of sales paid to the US government and restricts customers, tempering enthusiasm. On Polymarket, real-money bettors wagered $88,676 with 100% conviction Nvidia would close up December 8, suggesting institutional traders remain more optimistic than retail sentiment indicates. Trading at 46x earnings with a forward PE of 29.94, Nvidia sits 8.5% below its 52-week high of $212.18 as investors weigh record demand for Blackwell architecture against geopolitical headwinds.