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Nvidia Shares Slide as Board Deliberates Jensen Huang’s Future After Late-Night Meeting

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Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California, with the company logo sign at the entrance.

Nvidia shares fell sharply in premarket trading on Thursday after the company’s board met late Wednesday to decide whether to remove chief executive Jensen Huang — and adjourned without announcing a decision.

The stock was down 6.3 percent in premarket trading as of 4:34 a.m. ET, according to CNBC, extending a slide that began Wednesday evening after The Wall Street Journal reported that the board is preparing to remove Huang. Other market data put the early decline at roughly 7 percent, with shares trading near $161.50 after closing Wednesday at $173.73, up nearly 3 percent.

The board meeting, confirmed by CNBC and reported by Reuters, is the most consequential moment yet in a crisis that has already wiped more than $450 billion from Nvidia’s market value since the company disclosed an investigation into Huang’s conduct on November 8. As of Thursday morning, no decision had been announced, Nvidia had not commented publicly on the meeting, and Huang remained chief executive.

A board meeting with no announcement

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday evening that the board is preparing to remove Huang and could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide the future of the man who co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has led it for 33 years. Reuters reported that directors did meet late Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg reported separately that the board has been working with an outside firm to identify possible successors and is considering naming an interim chief executive while it searches for a permanent replacement. Semafor reported that some directors favor naming chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief. Shares fell more than 8 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk, before steadying slightly in the early premarket session. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.92 percent early Thursday, while the Dow held comparatively steady.

Analysts warn of a deeper fall

Wall Street’s reaction on Thursday was swift and severe. Bernstein slashed its price target on Nvidia’s stock by half, from $400 to $200, according to CNBC. Several analysts told the network that if Huang is removed, the stock could fall 20 percent, given how central he has been to Nvidia’s success.

Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives put the stakes in stark terms, writing that Nvidia is worth $300 a share with Huang as chief executive and $225 without him. The CNBC Investing Club downgraded Nvidia to its hold-equivalent rating on Tuesday, citing uncertainty over Huang’s future.

The turmoil spread across the sector. Alibaba fell as much as 7.1 percent in Hong Kong, leading losses on the Hang Seng Tech Index, as investors worried about chip access and the wider fallout from the leadership question. At the same time, shares of Nvidia rivals rose in premarket trading — AMD was up 3.9 percent and Broadcom was up 3 percent — as traders bet that any disruption at Nvidia could benefit its competitors.

The stock had already lost more than 20 percent over the past month before Thursday’s slide, and its market value has fallen by more than $450 billion since the investigation was disclosed, according to market reporting.

What the board is investigating

The crisis began on Sunday, November 8, when Huang admitted in a letter to employees that he had an affair with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based cloud company Megaspeed whom United States intelligence officials reportedly believe to be a Chinese spy. The same day, Nvidia’s board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and opened an independent investigation.

On November 10, the independent directors appointed the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run the inquiry, led by Joon H. Kim, a partner at the firm and a former acting United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Then, on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Huang had a second extramarital relationship, with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care. Neither Nvidia, Huang nor Powell has confirmed that report, and the board has not said what, if anything, it has concluded about either relationship.

United States lawmakers have called for Huang’s resignation, and a shareholder class action accuses Nvidia and Huang of defrauding investors. Huang has about 60 executives reporting directly to him and has said publicly that he does not believe in succession planning — a fact that has made the board’s search for a possible replacement more difficult.

Why this matters

Nvidia is the world’s most valuable company and the dominant supplier of the chips that power artificial intelligence, the technology at the center of the global economy’s biggest investment boom. Its shares are held in millions of retirement accounts and index funds, and its valuation moves the entire stock market: when Nvidia falls, the Nasdaq usually follows.

A leadership change at the top of the company would raise immediate questions about Nvidia’s strategy, its relationships with customers and governments, and its ability to keep delivering the chips that data centers around the world depend on. It would also land days before two major events: Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter results on November 17, and Huang has been asked to brief three House committees on November 18.

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The episode has also become a political story. Congress is pursuing tighter restrictions on China’s access to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips through the Senate’s fiscal 2027 defense package, and the reported intelligence questions around Huang’s relationship have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties. President Donald Trump has called Huang “an honorable guy,” while other officials have demanded answers the company has not yet provided.

The uncertainty is rippling beyond Nvidia itself. The dollar hit a 19-month high this week as investors weighed interest-rate expectations, and the chip sector’s swings are now feeding into broader questions about whether the AI investment boom can keep its momentum. Anthropic, another AI company, recently withdrew IPO pricing details after a filing circulated — a reminder that the industry’s biggest names are all under unusual pressure at once.

Latest developments

Even as the board deliberated, the story took on a life of its own. Elon Musk responded on Thursday to a post on X urging him to hire Huang, writing, “That would be an honor.” The comment added to speculation about where Huang might go if he leaves Nvidia, though neither man has said anything more.

For now, the central question remains unanswered: whether the board will act on the reported preparations to remove Huang, keep him in place, or buy time by appointing an interim leader while the Wachtell investigation continues. Until the board speaks, the stock is trading on the headline, not the business — and Thursday’s premarket slide suggests investors are bracing for the worst.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Nvidia’s board decided to remove Jensen Huang?

No decision has been announced. The board met late Wednesday to discuss Huang’s future, according to Reuters, and Nvidia has not commented publicly on the meeting. The Wall Street Journal reported that the board is preparing to remove him, but that is a report about the board’s intentions, not a confirmed decision.

How much has Nvidia’s stock fallen?

Nvidia closed Wednesday at $173.73, up nearly 3 percent, then fell more than 8 percent in after-hours trading and was down about 6 to 7 percent in premarket trading on Thursday. The stock has lost more than 20 percent over the past month, and its market value has fallen by more than $450 billion since the investigation was disclosed on November 8.

What is the board investigating?

The board opened an independent investigation on November 8 after reports about Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive whom United States intelligence officials reportedly believe has links to Chinese intelligence. The inquiry, run by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, is also examining a second reported relationship with Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell. Neither relationship’s details have been confirmed by Nvidia.

When will we know more?

Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter results on November 17, and Huang has been asked to brief three House committees on November 18. Either event could force the company to address the leadership question publicly, but the board could also announce a decision at any time.

Nvidia’s board now holds the future of the world’s most valuable company in its hands, and investors are waiting for a word that has not yet come. The meeting is over, the stock is falling, and the silence from Santa Clara is doing nothing to calm the market.

Sources

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