
Analysts suggest market demand for compute remains high despite Nvidia's leadership turmoil and potential legislative hurdles for data centers.
AI-generated summary
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned following a tumultuous week for the company. Democratic gains in the November 3 election have raised concerns about potential regulation of data center expansion.
The largest technology stocks linked to the artificial intelligence trade could stand to benefit the most from Nvidia's woes and a Democratic-controlled Congress pushing back on data centers, according to investing experts interviewed on CNBC's "ETF Edge" earlier this week.
"We may have been put in an environment, as much as investors have sort of been looking for areas outside of Big Tech, where net-net Big Tech ends up as the winner once again," said Roundhill Investments CEO Dave Mazza, whose firm manages the Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS).
Part of his bull case: Other players in the AI trade are positioned to fill Nvidia's chip demand if investors lose trust in the company after a tumultuous week that saw its iconic founder and CEO Jensen Huang resign.
"If we get into an environment where people can't trust … Nvidia, they're going to look for other sources for these chips because they need them," Mazza said during the "ETF Edge" interview, which occurred Monday as the Nvidia scandal grew but before Huang had resigned.
Discussing recent fund flow activity for the MAGS ETF, as well as for the Roundhill Neocloud ETF (NCLD) — which focuses on smaller market cap, specialized cloud computing companies — Mazza said, "In a weird way, [hyperscalers] may continue to benefit from this because they have the compute available. It's going to be more valuable if the demand is there."
The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF ended the week in the green, albeit with a gain of less than 1%, while the Roundhill Neocloud ETF was up over 1%, though earnings from top holdings Coreweave and Nebius presented a mixed picture.
CoreWeave had its best day since April 2025 on Wednesday after its latest quarterly results, while Nebius shares sank after its Thursday report. The neocloud ETF remains deeply in the red since its August 2026 launch, down 39%, amid concerns about balance sheet strength, which could linger given Nvidia's role in financing the AI buildout. CoreWeave shares sank again on Friday, and Nvidia posted its longest losing streak since 2012 after its latest weekly losses.
Yorkville Ives lowered its price target on Nvidia to $225 from $300 on Thursday after Huang's resignation, but maintained a buy rating on the stock, which finished the week at $162.85 per share.
"Nvidia remains the clear leader in GPU chips for the AI Revolution. They are roughly 2-3 years ahead of the nearest competitor and the demand trajectory the next few years is not changing because Jensen is gone," Ives wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. "The strategic roadmap is already essentially built around the next few family of chips and physical AI with 42k employees driving it. ... Valuation at roughly 10x 28 EPS is way too cheap once Nvidia gets through this storm and emerges on the other side."
The compute that does exist could become even more indispensable against the backdrop of a potential slowdown to the data-center buildout by Congress after the Democratic Party gains of Nov. 3 swept control of Congress, Mazza said.
Ives estimates that the "blue tidal wave" in Congress could mean 10% of planned data centers won't materialize on the low end, and 15%-20% on the high end, but he added that demand still outstrips supply four to one. "The compute is just that much more valuable in the capacity today than it was a week ago. So I could argue just more and more bullish, strong, get stronger," Ives said.
"The game is going to change for Big Tech. It will slow it down. But there's no overbuild, no bubble concerns. And I view that as actually a positive thing," he added.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
10% to 20% of planned data centers may not materialize due to legislative pressure.
Possible · Within months

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