While the entire market held its breath awaiting Nvidia's (NVDA) earnings report, four other tech sector players quietly outpaced the giant in stock price momentum. The corporation's results beat expectations, but investors clearly found more appetizing growth opportunities in the shares of Okta, Salesforce, CrowdStrike, and Veeva Systems.
Nvidia reported for its second fiscal quarter with adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share and revenue of $96.22 billion. Both figures surpassed the consensus analyst forecast, which expected $2.10 per share and $92.17 billion in revenue. Moreover, the company's management provided an optimistic outlook for the third quarter, promising $108 billion in revenue — above average market expectations. However, the market reaction was muted: Nvidia shares gained only 4% in after-hours trading.
Okta and Salesforce — after-hours leaders
Okta (OKTA) shares surged approximately 19% in extended trading — the largest gain among all companies that reported on Wednesday. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.05 per share on revenue of $805 million, while analysts had projected $0.97 and $795 million, respectively. The company also raised its full-year guidance on both metrics, which clearly encouraged investors.
Salesforce (CRM) shares rose approximately 13% following the release of quarterly results. Adjusted earnings more than doubled to $5.90 per share, driven by investment income. Net revenue totaled $11.35 billion versus a forecast of $11.32 billion. If this gain holds, it will add roughly 160 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday.
CrowdStrike and Veeva — steady growth
CrowdStrike (CRWD) rose approximately 10% after beating expectations on both revenue and earnings per share. Its third-quarter guidance matched estimates on earnings and came in higher on revenue.
Veeva Systems (VEEV), a software developer for the pharmaceutical industry, gained about 7%. The company also surpassed analyst forecasts on both key metrics.
Less noticeable moves and one laggard
Agilent Technologies (A) shares rose 4% — the same as Nvidia's stock. The company's third-quarter revenue totaled $1.88 billion, exceeding the FactSet forecast of $1.84 billion. Everpure (formerly Pure Storage) gained approximately 2%: adjusted earnings reached $0.70 per share on revenue of $1.19 billion, with both figures coming in above expectations.
Urban Outfitters (URBN) shares, however, fell approximately 5%, even though results matched analyst expectations. The company's earnings did not include a one-time duty refund.
Wednesday once again demonstrated that merely beating earnings forecasts is not enough for confident stock growth. Long-term prospects and management commentary have a much stronger impact on share prices. Investors will be closely watching whether these levels hold after the market opens on Thursday.
My take: the market is clearly shifting from "growth stories" to "value stories." Beating expectations is becoming the norm for leaders like Nvidia, so investors are seeking undervalued assets with re-rating potential. Okta and Salesforce look particularly interesting — their ability to generate strong cash flow at current valuations could attract even more institutional capital.