Nvidia bulls mount uphill battle into earnings

Cnbc · May 18, 2026 · 351 words · By Oliver Renick

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What to know about Nvidia bulls mount uphill battle into earnings

There's a popular saying in the options pits: Sell a tiny, buy a Lamborghini.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

There's a popular saying in the options pits: Sell a tiny, buy a Lamborghini.

Why it matters

It refers of course to the practice of selling dollar cheap out of the money options and collecting the premium for a high probability bet.

Common ground

As those tinies grow, you make a small fortune over time.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Nvidia bulls mount uphill battle into earnings?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that It's a repeat of Friday's session, when $114M of premium in the 235-strike calls slipped out of the money?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/nvidia-bulls-mount-uphill-battle-into-earnings.h…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 8

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info

Claim 1: “It's a repeat of Friday's session, when $114M of premium in the 235-strike calls slipped out of the money.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of Wikipedia and Britannica entries regarding the history and definition of the dollar sign ($), which is irrelevant to the financial claim about Nvidia options premiums.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The dollar sign, also known as the peso sign, is a currency symbol consisting of a capital S crossed with one or two vertical strokes ($ or depending on typeface), used to indicate the unit of various…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_sign

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — dollar sign, $, symbol that represents the dollar, the name of the standard monetary unit used in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a number of other countries and territories.
https://www.britannica.com/money/dollar-sign

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Discover the true origin of the dollar sign ($)—from Spanish pesos to U.S. currency. Learn why we use this symbol and how it evolved over time.
https://coin-identifier.com/blog/historical-coin-profiles/wh…

info

Claim 2: “Nvidia options were the fifth-most traded in the market Monday, trailing the benchmark indexes and Tesla, with more than 3 million in contracts traded and total premium worth over $1.3 billion.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web results discuss general options trading, a specific trader, and unrelated Bloomberg news about Trump, but do not provide the specific market ranking or volume figures for Nvidia options on the Monday in question.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Free Beginners Guide to Stock Options on our Website: https://clearvalueinvesting.com/education/options-and-trading/GET up to 14 FREE STOCKS when you open up...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97j5XMw_EM0

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — But the volume of trading — more than 40 per day over a three-month period — stands out as much as the potential dollar value.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-14/trump-bou…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The contracts are a particularly high-risk options play. But Schlessinger's tips did not focus on explicit trading strategy around the options themselves.
https://www.businessinsider.com/options-trader-lander-schles…

info

Claim 3: “the four biggest options trades in the stock were all bullish call-buyers of expensive, in-the-money contracts expiring Friday, each totaling at least $10 million.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of dictionary definitions and Wikipedia entries for the number '4' and a 'Buy Now Pay Later' app, which is completely irrelevant to Nvidia options trades.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A four-sided plane figure is a quadrilateral or quadrangle, sometimes also called a tetragon. It can be further classified as a rectangle or oblong, kite, rhombus, and square.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Four is a Buy Now, Pay Later app that lets you split any online purchase into 4 easy payments, made every two weeks. Download the app, get your one-time virtual card, and shop at hundreds of your favo…
https://www.paywithfour.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — something representing, represented by, or consisting of four units, such as a playing card with four symbols on it
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/four

info

Claim 4: “Nvidia price action Monday is a good illustration of that concept... as the stock drops Monday, down more than 6.5% from highs on Thursday”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results are generic links to stock tickers (Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, TradingView) and do not contain the specific price action data or percentages needed to verify the 6.5% drop on a specific Monday.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — View today's NVIDIA Corporation stock price and latest NVDA news and analysis. Create real-time notifications to follow any changes in the live stock price.
https://www.investing.com/equities/nvidia-corp

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — View live NVIDIA Corporation chart to track its stock's price action.
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-NVDA/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Find the latest NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) stock quote, history, news and other vital information to help you with your stock trading and investing.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NVDA/

info

Claim 5: “Among the most popular contracts were the 225 and 222.5-strike calls, each of which traded more than 220,000 times”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of general educational guides on options trading and strike prices, but contains no specific trading volume data for Nvidia 225 or 222.5 strike calls.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Get the library of my best options guides & presentations → 160+ page Options Trading for Beginners guide and bonus content: https://projectoption.com/fre...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PM4rNDr4oI

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Understanding Option Strike Prices: Definition, Function, and Impact.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/strikeprice.asp

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Options Profit Calculator provides a unique way to view the returns and profit/loss of stock options strategies. To start, select an options trading strategy...
https://www.optionsprofitcalculator.com/

info

Claim 6: “Call volume outpaced puts by more than double on Monday, though more calls were exchanged at the bid or below, meaning likely sold, according to ThinkOrSwim data.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence discusses how to convert indicators to ThinkOrSwim or general Bitcoin options volume, but provides no specific data regarding Nvidia's call vs put volume or bid/ask exchange data.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — How much does it cost? It depends on the complexity of your requested script. A quote will be provided to you. Can you show me some samples? I have converted hundreds of TradingView scripts to Thinkor…
https://thinkscript101.com/convert-tradingview-script-to-thi…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Two more items you should know: 1. RTD puts less of a load on the ThinkOrSwim servers, so you can see why they want to move from DDE to RTD. (They support both mechanisms right now.) 2. DDE needs “exp…
https://www.lockeinyoursuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/0…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Volume (24h): Call vs Put.Options Volume. Use Coinglass APP. Get a better and more comprehensive user experience.
https://www.coinglass.com/options

info

Claim 7: “Of that, $1 billion was tied to calls.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided is again limited to the history and definition of the dollar sign symbol and contains no financial data regarding Nvidia call premiums.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dec 20, 2024 · The dollar sign, or “$,” is one of the most recognizable currency symbols in the world, instantly understood across languages and cultures. It also transcends currency, having become a …
https://historyfacts.com/us-history/article/why-is-the-dolla…

help

Claim 8: “Traders expect a 6.25% swing based on implied volatility around earnings, on par with usual expectations but larger than the average realized move of 3.2%, according to Cboe LiveVol data.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this claim.

info

Claim 9: “Upwards of 15% of Nvidia options traded by midday Monday were contracts expiring at the end of the session, according to data compiled by SpotGamma.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists entirely of dictionary definitions for the word 'according' and does not contain any financial data from SpotGamma regarding Nvidia options.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The term according to can be used to attribute something reported — according to the news, the airports are closed (even though according to your friend, they're still open). It also refers to agreeme…
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/according

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Definition of 'according' according in American English (əˈkɔrdɪŋ ) adjective agreeing; in harmony
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/acco…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Phrasal verb accord with something (Definition of according from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/accor…

help

Claim 10: “Nvidia's dropped after the past three reports, including a 5.5% decline in February.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this claim.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.