Nvidia’s trillion-dollar run puts pressure on the bulls
BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 14: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (C) gestures as he prepares to leave after a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. President Trump meets with President Xi Jinping in Beijing to address the Iran conflict, trade imbalances and the situation with Taiwan while creating new bilateral boards for economic and AI oversight. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Chip giant’s earnings Nvidia Always a big deal for the stock market, it remains monumental this time around, with headlines resurfacing hopes that a US-China trade deal could open the door for the company to start selling its chips to Chinese companies.
The world’s largest stock has gained another 20 percent in value since May 5; That includes a 4.4 percent rise on Thursday after the U.S. approved a handful of Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s H200 processors used for artificial intelligence applications. Nvidia’s market cap has risen from $4.7 trillion at market close last Tuesday to $5.7 trillion now.
Nvidia since May 5
The sharp rise in the stock price means that many bullish options traders who bought ahead of this quarter’s earnings report are already “in the money”; This means the stock is trading above its strike price. This means leverage in the options market increases on Friday and into options expiring next week; There are $40 billion worth of option delta trades at stake for a total premium of just $4 billion.
Big Nvidia’s expiration date
Nvidia will report after the bell next Wednesday, May 20.
The ten most popular Nvidia options by volume all expire today; The 235-strike call represents $114 million in option premium and almost $5 billion in delta. These traders will need the stock to maintain this week’s gains at least through the bell on Friday, or they face a rapid decline in value.
“How do you reprice the China reopening to Nvidia, I think that’s what people are repositioning right now,” SpotGamma founder Brent Kochuba said. “You have these calls that are gaining a lot of value.”
Looking at next week’s earnings, traders are expecting a big move. Implied volatility for Nvidia earnings is just under 7.5%, more than double the average move over the last four quarters.
The May 22 250 strike call, the most popular options contract by volume expiring next Friday and selling for about $4, calls for at least almost exactly that.
