ZACKSยท2025-11-20 00:21Market Overview - Market indexes finished in the green but at lower levels than the start of the trading session, with the Dow up +47 points (+0.10%), S&P 500 up +24 points (+0.38%), Nasdaq up +131 points (+0.59%), and Russell 2000 down -0.86 points (-0.04%) [1] Company Earnings Reports - NVIDIA and Palo Alto Networks reported earnings after the market close, with NVIDIA focusing on AI infrastructure and having a market cap of $4.5 trillion, while Palo Alto Networks is centered on cybersecurity [2] - Both companies exceeded earnings estimates, with NVIDIA reporting Q3 earnings of $1.30 per share (vs. $1.24 expected) and Palo Alto Networks at 94 cents per share (vs. 89 cents expected). Revenue figures were $57.0 billion for NVIDIA (a record high) and $2.50 billion for Palo Alto Networks [3] Revenue Growth and Performance - Palo Alto Networks experienced a revenue growth of +16% year over year, while NVIDIA achieved a remarkable +62% revenue growth from last year's Q3. NVIDIA's non-GAAP gross margins reached +73.6%, driven by strong performance in its Blackwell chips [4] - NVIDIA shares rose +4.5% following the earnings report, while Palo Alto Networks shares fell -3.0%. Despite Palo Alto's solid performance, its valuation at 54x earnings did not exceed expectations as dramatically as NVIDIA's results, which included a record $51.2 billion in its Data Center segment, reflecting +25% growth quarter over quarter and +66% year over year [5] Industry Positioning - Both companies are leaders in their respective technology sectors, representing significant growth in the 21st century. However, NVIDIA currently stands out as the dominant player in the market [6]