Mark your calendars: Nvidia’s (NVDA) third quarter earnings report is set to be released on November 20, and this could be the quarter with the highest expectations the company has ever faced. While I’m a long-term Nvidia bull, I believe that simply exceeding estimates won’t be enough to generate a more bullish market reaction.

Nvidia was gaining early Thursday amid signs of robust demand for artificial-intelligence chips from the wider market.Nvidia shares were up 1.7% at $148.77 in morning trading. The stock fell 1.4% on Wednesday.

Nvidia’s earnings could give a jolt to other AI semiconductor plays if the outlook impresses, but don’t expect software stocks to lose shine during a seasonally strong quarter.

Technically, that makes Nvidia stock a buy. But investors who follow the IBD Methodology and realize there's earnings risk are wondering, should they buy the stock now? On Thursday, chip lithography gear maker, ASML maintained its 2030 sales target of $46.

Semiconductor company Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has seen its share price increase nearly 1,000% since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. That event was the big-bang moment for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom,