Traders place $2M in out-of-the-money Nvidia call sweeps ahead of May 20 earnings

Nvidia drew a burst of speculative options activity on Wednesday as traders positioned for the company’s fiscal first-quarter results, due after the U.S. close. Social posts from options-flow accounts flagged about $2 million in out-of-the-money call sweeps ahead of the report, while Reuters reported the broader options market was pricing a roughly $355 billion swing in Nvidia’s market value after earnings. Nvidia’s investor relations site says the company will release first-quarter fiscal 2027 results on May 20, 2026, with a webcast scheduled for 2 p.m. Pacific time, or 5 p.m. Eastern. ### What exactly were traders buying? Out-of-the-money call sweeps are bullish options orders placed at strike prices above the current stock price and routed across exchanges for fast execution. In plain terms, the buyer is paying for upside exposure that only becomes valuable if the stock rises enough, and usually rises quickly, before the options expire. The “sweep” part matters because it usually signals urgency. Rather than resting a single order on one exchange, the buyer breaks it up and hits available liquidity across venues. (investor.nvidia.com) Traders often watch that activity for clues about short-term conviction around catalysts such as earnings. The social posts cited in the source briefings said roughly $2 million of that flow appeared in Nvidia calls ahead of Wednesday’s report. ### Why does $2 million in call premium get attention in Nvidia? Nvidia is one of the largest companies in the U.S. stock market, so a $2 million options bet is not large because of its absolute size alone. It gets attention because the orders were out of the money and placed just before earnings, when implied volatility is elevated and options are expensive. Reuters reported that one notable trade earlier in the week involved a 25,000-lot call spread expiring June 1 that bet Nvidia could rise about 16% to $260 a share within two weeks, according to Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna. (unusualoptionflow.com) Murphy told Reuters that Nvidia’s options skew had shifted toward calls, indicating stronger demand for upside exposure. ### How big a move were options markets pricing? Reuters reported that Nvidia options implied a move of about 6.5% in either direction for Thursday, the session after earnings. Based on Nvidia’s size, that translated to roughly $355 billion in market capitalization, more than the standalone market value of about 90% of S&P 500 companies, Reuters said. (thestar.com.my) That implied move was larger than the 5.6% move priced before Nvidia’s February earnings, but still below the stock’s historical average earnings swing of 7.6%, according to Option Research & Technology Services, or ORATS. Matt Amberson, ORATS’ founder, told Reuters that investors had “become complacent about AI/capex.” (thestar.com.my) ### Why do these trades matter before an earnings report? Earnings are one of the few scheduled events that can reset expectations for a stock in a single session. Nvidia sits at the center of investor demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure, so its revenue growth, margins and outlook can move not only its own shares but also semiconductor stocks, AI suppliers and major indexes. Reuters said traders remained broadly bullish on Nvidia while also protecting gains elsewhere in the semiconductor complex. (thestar.com.my) The report noted that Nvidia shares were up 19% year to date, compared with an 8% gain for the S&P 500 and a 57% rise in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index. ### What happens next, and where will traders look first? May 20 is Nvidia’s reporting date for fiscal Q1 2027, and the company’s webcast is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, according to its investor relations page. Investors will be watching the headline numbers, management’s guidance and any commentary on AI demand, customer spending and margins as they assess whether the call buying ahead of the release was early positioning for another upside surprise. (thestar.com.my) (investor.nvidia.com)