Huang’s resignation sends chip stocks lower, with Intel down between 4.5% and 6.3%
Key Facts
NVIDIA announced Jensen Huang’s resignation as chief executive and named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress interim chief executive, a leadership shift that sent the company’s shares sharply lower and renewed pressure on the chip sector. By 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, November 12, NVIDIA shares were down 5.3%, according to The Associated Press. Losses were steeper at the start of trading, when the stock plunged 14% before later paring its decline. In the broader sell-off, shares of chip-related companies, including Intel, fell between 4.5% and 6.3%, according to Reuters coverage published via Euronext. The announcement came as NVIDIA’s board was conducting an independent investigation it had opened days earlier, adding a corporate governance and security dimension to news of Huang’s departure.
The backdrop to the crisis became clear on November 8, when NVIDIA’s board announced an independent investigation after reports that a foreign intelligence agency had targeted Huang. The board said it did not believe national security or company secrets had been compromised, while the investigation continued into the available information. The resignation came before U.S. lawmakers had closed the matter; they said they still wanted to interview Huang about his interactions with a woman suspected of working for Beijing, as well as the company’s security protocols. Lawmakers had made their initial interview request on November 5. Kress’s appointment therefore coincided with continued official scrutiny and questions about company security, alongside the investigation opened by the board.
Chip stocks did not all move in the same direction during the November 12 session. AMD shares rose 3.7%, while Broadcom gained 5.6%, in contrast to declines in NVIDIA and other companies, Reuters reported. The report linked the performance to hopes that competitors could benefit from NVIDIA’s disruption, without implying a confirmed change in market shares or business results. In Associated Press coverage, AMD shares rose 5.8% amid bets that rival chipmakers could gain a competitive edge. The Nasdaq Composite also erased an early decline of 1.6% and was little changed at the time of the report. The diverging share moves reflect a rapid repricing of investor expectations about competition, while the broader index was steadier than its early drop.
The fallout extended beyond the session’s share-price moves: Reuters said NVIDIA had lost more than $550 billion in market value from the board’s announcement on Sunday that it was opening an investigation through November 12. Regulatory concerns about data centers had also weighed on AI stocks earlier in the month, amid fears that tighter restrictions could slow the expansion of AI infrastructure. Against this backdrop, a trading analyst raised a question about NVIDIA’s role in financing infrastructure tied to its chips, saying: "If it has to pull back because of what’s happening, will that cut off funding for the smaller companies that need it? That’s an open question." The question puts financing among the concerns accompanying the stock’s decline, alongside competition and regulation. A research director at Forrester said continued pressure on the stock, financing or ecosystem commitments "would add evidence to the fragile side of the AI bubble record."
The next step in the matter remains the interview with Huang sought by U.S. lawmakers, who made their initial request on November 5. They want to ask him about his interactions with a woman suspected of working for Beijing and NVIDIA’s security protocols. The company, meanwhile, said Kress would take the role on an interim basis as the board’s independent investigation continues. The facts cited did not specify a date for the interview or the investigation’s findings. Accountability and the investigation therefore remain central to follow-up after the executive change, alongside monitoring how sector shares respond to NVIDIA news.