Nvidia (NVDA.O)
The U.S. trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August as President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs pushed imports lower.
In a report delayed for more than seven weeks by the federal government shutdown, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the gap between what the United States buys from other countries and what it sells them fell to $59.6 billion in August, from $78.2 billion in July.
Imports of goods and services dropped 5% to $340.4 billion in August from July, when U.S. companies were stocking up on foreign products before Trump finalized taxes on products from almost every country on earth. Those levies went into effect Aug. 7.
U.S. exports blipped up 0.1% in August to $280.8 billion.
Trump, charging that America’s persistent trade deficits mean that other countries have taken advantage of the U.S., has overturned decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade, slapping double-digit tariffs on imports from most countries and targeting specific products, including steel, copper, and autos, with their own levies.
Still, the U.S. trade deficit is up so far in 2025, coming in at $713.6 billion through August, up 25% from $571.1 billion in January-August 2024.
A drop in imports and the trade deficit is good for economic growth because foreign products are subtracted from the nation’s gross domestic product. GDP is the output of a nation’s goods and services.
“August’s smaller trade deficit will be a tailwind for third-quarter real GDP, since it means that more U.S. expenditures were directed toward domestically-produced goods and services rather than foreign ones,” Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, wrote in a commentary. “While this release is quite dated because of the government shutdown, it contributes to evidence that the economy was growing briskly in the third quarter.’'
Tariffs, which Trump says will protect U.S. industries and lure factories to America, are paid by importers who typically attempt to pass along the higher cost to their customers. Economists say Trump’s tariffs are one reason U.S. inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
After voters’ dissatisfaction with the high cost of living led to big Democratic gains in the Nov. 4 elections, the president relented and dropped tariffs last week on beef, coffee, tea, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and certain fertilizers, saying they “may, in some cases,” have contributed to higher prices.
His tariffs are also facing a legal challenge that has gone to the Supreme Court. In a Nov. 5 hearing, the justices sounded skeptical that the president had the authority to bypass Congress and slap unlimited tariffs on most imports simply by declaring a national emergency.
Nvidia reported more eye-catching numbers for its fiscal third quarter on Wednesday, with net income jumping 65% and revenue increasing 62% from a year earlier.
Last month, Nvidia became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion.
The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Nvidia carved out an early lead in tailoring its chipsets, known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, from use in powering video games to helping to train powerful AI systems, like the technology behind ChatGPT and image generators. Demand skyrocketed as more people began using AI chatbots. Tech companies scrambled for more chips to build and run them.
Nvidia’s journey to be one of the world’s most prominent companies has produced some extraordinary numbers. Here’s a look.
$31.9 billion
Nvidia’s net income for the third quarter, up from $19.3 billion a year ago.
38.9%
NVIDIA’s stock gain for the year, as of the close of trading on Wednesday. That follows gains of 171% in 2024 and 239% in 2023.
$4.53 trillion
Nvidia’s total market capitalization as of the close of trading Wednesday tops in the S&P 500.
Apple at $3.98 trillion and Microsoft at $3.62 trillion were next among the most valuable companies in the S&P 500. In all, nine companies in the index have market caps above $1 trillion.
$4.28 trillion
The gross domestic product of Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, according to the International Monetary Fund.
79
The number of trading days it took for Nvidia’s market cap to grow from $4 trillion to $5 trillion earlier this year. The market cap had jumped from $3 trillion on May 13 to $4 trillion on July 9 (41 trading days), although Nvidia had crossed and fallen back below the $3 trillion threshold several times between June 2024 and May 2025 before making the run to $4 trillion.
19.8%
The company’s contribution to the gain in the S&:P 500 this year as of Oct. 31, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
$162 billion
The net worth of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, according to Forbes, puts him eighth on its Real-Time Billionaires List. Elon Musk is No. 1 at $467.7 billion.
📊 Markets snapped their 4-day losing streak, but the real story isn't today's gains. It's what the Fed just revealed.
Today's Market Action (November 19th):
• S&P 500: +0.4%
• Nasdaq: +0.6%
• Dow: +0.1%
Alphabet hit an all-time high following Tuesday's Gemini 3 AI launch, leading tech's recovery.
Nvidia Earnings Beat (After Hours):
• Revenue: $57 billion (beat by $2B)
• Q4 Guidance: $65 billion (vs. $62B expected)
• CEO Jensen Huang: "Blackwell chips are sold out"
The AI demand story remains intact, but here's what should really catch your attention...
The Hidden Story in Fed Minutes:
Officials are "strongly divided" on December rate cuts. This isn't a typical Fed disagreement. It's a fundamental split on whether the current policy is even restrictive anymore.
When the Fed can't agree, markets get volatile.
What This Means for Your Money:
💰 Savers: Your 3.5% savings yields could persist well into 2025 if the Fed stays frozen by indecision.
📈 Stock investors: Nvidia's beat is bullish for AI, but Fed uncertainty means wider market swings. Watch for quality companies getting unfairly punished alongside speculative names. That's where opportunities emerge.
📅 Tomorrow: September jobs report finally arrives (yes, September). The data is stale, but markets will react anyway because that's what markets do.
The gap between Fed officials' views hasn't been this wide in years. In my experience, these moments of maximum uncertainty often precede maximum opportunity.
"The Joe Rogan Experience" reclaimed the top spot on Apple Podcasts in 2025, overtaking "The Daily," which held the crown last year, based on Apple’s rankings published by The Hollywood Reporter. "The Mel Robbins Podcast" placed third. "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" was named the most popular new show, followed by "Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce." Rogan’s Elon Musk episode was the fourth most popular overall.
Looks like everyone's a Maxxinista now. TJX Companies — which owns TJ Maxx, Home Goods, and Marshalls — on Wednesday reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter, notching a 7% sales increase year-over-year. CEO Ernie Herrman said the holiday shopping season is off to a "strong start" for the discount giant, though its guidance for the period missed Wall Street's expectations. TJX has seen healthy growth in the past few years as increasingly price-conscious shoppers seek out value.
As Paramount, Netflix, and Comcast all reportedly prepare offers to buy Warner Bros. ahead of a Thursday deadline, several factors make Paramount the logical choice, according to The Wall Street Journal. While Netflix has about three times as much cash, Larry Ellison’s backing renders Paramount the richest of all. Likewise, Ellison’s relationship with the White House gives Paramount a competitive edge. Separately, Paramount has denied a report claiming it was collaborating with a cohort of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds on a $71 billion bid.
Investors like Google’s latest artificial intelligence model. Shares of parent company Alphabet climbed the most Wednesday since early September, Bloomberg reports, with analysts citing the “rave reviews” of Gemini 3. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai says the new model is “built to grasp depth and nuance,” while a new agentic platform, dubbed Google Antigravity, has developers coding at “a higher, task-oriented level.” Google’s Gemini app currently boasts 650 million monthly active users. In August, rival OpenAI said its ChatGPT reached 700 million weekly users.