Nvidia's CES Setback Mirrors 2007 iPhone Launch, Says Dan Ives: 'Jensen Plays Chess While Others Are Playing Checkers'

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NVIDIA Corp. NVDA shares fell 6.22% on Tuesday following CEO Jensen Huang‘s CES 2025 keynote, prompting Wedbush Securities Managing Director Dan Ives to draw parallels with another transformative tech moment – Apple Inc.‘s iPhone launch in 2007, which initially saw minimal market reaction before driving a 15.9% surge in the following month.

What Happened: “The only thing that could compare would maybe be the iPhone launch in 2007. I'm trying to give you an example of how different the energy was — there was something new, something transformational,” Ives told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, suggesting the market response might similarly underestimate Nvidia’s long-term impact.

“None of this happens without Jensen and Nvidia. The bears who’ve missed every major tech transformation in the last 20 years are now hyper-focused on things like geopolitical risks and the 10-year at 5%.”

Huang’s comments about quantum computing’s practical implementation being 15-30 years away triggered a broader sector selloff, with IonQ Inc. IONQ dropping 10.75% and Rigetti Computing Inc. RGTI falling 13% on Wednesday.

Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya maintained a Buy rating with a $190 price target, describing Nvidia as an “end-to-end AI shop,” while Benchmark analyst Cody Acree noted the presentation may have been “too technical” for investors seeking near-term guidance.

See Also: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar Challenges Automation’s Potential As Selling Pressure Mounts: ‘What Have We Been Doing For 20 Years?’

What Happened: Ives dismissed concerns about the stock decline, pointing to similar patterns in other tech leaders. “Look at Apple—it sold off to $190 after WWDC, and then it shot back up to $250-260,” he explained. “The reality is, coming out of CES, we should actually be more bullish, given the market opportunities in robotics and autonomy.”

The analyst emphasized the growing enterprise demand for AI solutions, citing his observations across Asia and Europe. “We’re going to see a tidal wave of activity in terms of AI use cases,” Ives predicted, noting that IT buyers are ramping up investments not just in consumer applications but across the enterprise sector.

Nvidia’s stock has surged over 160% in the past year, pushing its market capitalization above $3.5 trillion. Despite near-term volatility driven by macroeconomic concerns including interest rates and inflation, Ives maintains his bullish stance on the company’s position in what he describes as a “once-in-40-year revolution with AI.”

“They’re so far ahead of the game, it’s pretty insane,” Ives added, referencing skepticism in 2022 about Jensen’s heavy AI investments over gaming. “Jensen plays chess while others are playing checkers. Blackwell demand is insane.”

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