Nvidia: Jensen Huang Resigns as CEO and Shares Plunge as Much as 14%

Yesterday, something happened that nobody would have believed just a few days ago.

On Tuesday, we reported that Nvidia was adamant. Jensen Huang would continue as CEO “without interruption.”

Two days later? Jensen Huang resigned. Effective immediately.

The man who built the company over 33 years is leaving. And this comes just five days before the company’s quarterly earnings report.

The stock plunged as much as 14% during the day. Then, it recovered a significant portion of its losses.

What happened over the past few days, what changes from here, and what are analysts saying?

HOW WE GOT HERE

To understand yesterday's news, we need to go back a little.

On October 29, The New York Times reported that U.S. authorities consider Alice Huang to be a Chinese spy. She is an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company.

And Megaspeed is no ordinary company for Nvidia.

Its Malaysian subsidiary purchased equipment containing Nvidia chips worth at least $4.8 billion.

On Sunday, Huang sent an internal memo to employees and acknowledged the relationship.

“I was unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote.

The board launched an independent investigation. However, the company insisted that Huang would remain in his position. We covered all of this in detail in Tuesday's newsletter.

And this is where things get even more interesting. Because within just a few days, more revelations emerged.

The New York Times revealed a second relationship.

This time, with an executive at Nvidia itself, Kimberly Powell, who heads the company's healthcare division.

According to the Times, the two had been seen acting affectionately at a hotel during a company conference in March.

And as if that weren't enough, Reuters reported that there was also a third relationship.

With another Nvidia employee whose name was not made public. The company declined to comment.

But that's not all.

The Information reported that Alice Huang was connected to a network that facilitated $7.5 billion worth of chip sales to China.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Trump said the FBI was investigating the connection, although he described Huang as an “honest man.”

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that the board was preparing to remove him.

“So why all the panic over one person?”

Because Huang WAS Nvidia.

Just to understand the extent of his influence, 60 executives reported directly to him. Both of his children also work at the company.

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

The board accepted his resignation on Wednesday, and the news officially became public yesterday.

Huang is stepping down as CEO and is also leaving the board of directors. His departure is effective immediately.

He will, however, remain a shareholder, retaining approximately 3.6% of the company.

“Jensen's contribution to Nvidia has been enormous,” the company stated.

So, who takes over?

Temporarily, Colette Kress.

The company's CFO is taking over as CEO while retaining her existing financial leadership position.

“I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen has created over the past 33 years,” she said.

The board will search for a permanent CEO, either from within the company or externally. On November 18, Kress will address employees.

But there's something else.

For the first time in its history, Nvidia is appointing a chairman of the board.

The position goes to Harvey Jones, former CEO of Synopsys, who has served on Nvidia's board since 1993.

His message was clear. He has “full confidence” in Kress.

And the company's operations, customer commitments, and product plans will continue “without interruption.”

But pay attention to one thing. Huang may have left the company, but the story isn't over.

Brian Mast, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Huang had agreed to testify before the committee ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

THE STOCK MARKET ROLLER COASTER

Yesterday, even before the market opened, Nvidia shares were down more than 11%.

At the opening bell, the decline reached 14.3%. The stock fell below $150 for the first time since mid-2025.

The company's market capitalization dropped below $4 trillion for the first time since July 2025.

Nvidia also fell behind Microsoft in market capitalization.

And then? Suddenly, the stock started recovering.

By the afternoon, losses had narrowed to around 5%. Still a significant decline, of course, but nowhere near the chaos seen in the morning.

The Nasdaq followed a similar pattern. The index fell as much as 1.6% at the open before moving into positive territory.

But let's not forget the bigger picture for the month.

According to Raymond James, Nvidia has lost 26% of its value since the beginning of November.

And here's something else. Not every stock in the sector moved in the same direction.

AMD was up 1.3%, while Broadcom gained more than 4%.

Why?

Because some investors are betting that the turmoil at Nvidia could push certain customers toward its competitors.

Meanwhile, TSMC, the company that manufactures Nvidia's chips, was down 5%.

WHAT ARE ANALYSTS SAYING?

Opinions are divided.

On one side, some analysts argue that the company's underlying business remains unchanged.

Cody Acree of StoneX sees no impact on Nvidia's revenue or earnings, at least through 2028.

Chris Caso of Wolfe Research points out that the company's chip production capacity is already committed through the end of next year.

And Simon Leopold of Raymond James sees “limited risk” to the company's fundamentals.

On the other hand, however, things look different.

“The market hates uncertainty,” says Brian Colello of Morningstar.

Mark Malek of Siebert Financial is even more direct. The resignation “DOES NOT calm the stock.”

Oppenheimer downgraded the stock and withdrew its price target.

And Dan Ives, one of the most bullish analysts on artificial intelligence, lowered his price target from $300 to $225.

Why? Because his latest estimates now account for the fact that Huang is no longer CEO.

Melius Research compared the situation to HP's leadership crisis in 2010.

And Tristan Gerra of Baird put it simply:

“A major chapter in Nvidia's history is turning.”

“So when will we know whether anything has really changed?”

Very soon.

On Tuesday, November 17, Nvidia is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings as planned.

The market is expecting earnings of $2.47 per share and revenue of $109 billion.

In other words, the first major test for the new leadership is less than a week away.