Must read: momentum on Wall Street, Aston Martin, Nvidia

ii’s head of investment rounds up the morning’s big news.

25th February 2026 08:55

by Victoria Scholar from interactive investor

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Global markets

The FTSE 100 has opened notably higher, gaining around 0.9% to reach a record high, partly thanks to HSBC Holdings (LSE:HSBA) which has landed at the top of the index following impressive earnings.

RELX (LSE:REL) is another top gainer following the rebound in US software stocks on Wall Street on Tuesday after Anthropic’s newly announced AI plug-ins indicate that its tools will connect with partners, supporting software businesses, rather than destroying them.

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Diageo (LSE:DGE) is at the bottom of the FTSE 100 after slashing its dividend and cutting its outlook, while Haleon (LSE:HLN) has also slumped on the back of weak Q4 organic revenue growth.

In the US, Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address, with focus on Iran, tariffs and healthcare. In corporate news, Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META) agreed a $60 billion AI infrastructure deal with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), and Bloomberg reported that Stripe is mulling a potential acquisition of PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL). Following a strong session on Wall Street, US futures are pointing modestly higher as investors await NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s earnings tonight.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Ordinary Shares (LSE:AML) reported full-year revenue of £1.26 billion, down 21% and below forecasts for £1.34 billion. An annual pre-tax loss of £363.9 million also missed expectations. The luxury car brand has announced further restructuring, with plans to slash its workforce by up to a further 20% in its second round of redundancies. Aston already announced plans to sell its Formula 1 naming rights for £50 million to improve its finances.

Aston Martin is facing financial challenges including high leverage, slowing sales and continued losses, fuelled by headwinds including Trump’s punitive tariffs, sluggish demand from China as well as intense competition against other luxury sports brands like Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Aston Martin has also been slow to launch its first fully electric car because of slowing global electric vehicle demand, focusing instead on its plug-in hybrids.

Shares are getting a slight boost today, with investors encouraged by its aggressive cost cutting plans. The car maker anticipates it will result in £40 million of savings, most of which will be realised in the current 2026 financial year. However, shares are down heavily over the last year.

Nvidia

Nvidia prepares to report fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday. As the world’s most valuable company with a market cap of around $4.5 trillion, it has been the poster child for the AI frenzy.

Nvidia shares have performed extremely well since late 2022, although the stock has struggled since November’s volatility sparked by AI bubble fears. There is a high bar for the AI chip giant going into these earnings. Last quarter, Nvidia delivered very strong sales and earnings growth as well as impressive guidance. Investors are hoping for more of the same next week.

According to Refinitiv, Q4 adjusted earnings per share is expected to hit $1.53 versus $1.30 last quarter on revenues of $65.8 billion, up from $57.01 billion in Q3. Focus will be on its data centre revenue which is expected to hit $60.1 billion versus $51.2 billion last quarter. Investors will also seek reassurance about the demand outlook for its AI chips, anything that might justify its lofty valuation amid an increasingly competitive landscape versus rivals such as AMD and in-house chips.

Following the success of its Blackwell chips, which are reportedly largely sold out, investors will be looking for any insights into Rubin, its next-generation AI computing architecture. Investors will also be looking out for any clarity around the China sales outlook after the Trump administration partially reversed an export ban late last year.

According to Refinitiv, Nvidia retains its analyst buy recommendation, with a current average target price of $254.81, up around 35% from the current share price. Shares are slightly higher year-to-date and are up around 50% over the last 12 months.

These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

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