IREN falls 7% as AI stocks wobble after Huang steps down
Key Facts
IREN shares fell 7.0% in morning trading on Thursday, November 12, 2026, as AI stocks wobbled after NVIDIA announced that Jensen Huang was stepping down from his roles. Investing.com reported that the stock declined after the news of Huang’s departure, linking the move to broader pressure on AI cloud infrastructure stocks. NVIDIA announced the same day that Huang had resigned as chief executive, chair and a member of the board, effective immediately. The move came amid existing pressure on the sector, with investor sentiment toward AI stocks already shaky before the announcement. Reuters said concerns included rising cash spending and debt among technology companies.
NVIDIA announced that Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress would become interim chief executive while continuing to handle her financial responsibilities until a permanent successor is named. The company said Kress, who serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer, had agreed to take the interim role. The board appointed Harvey C. Jones as NVIDIA’s first chair. The immediate change puts the company’s leadership into a transition period as investors follow its direction after Huang’s departure. The announcement did not specify a date for naming a permanent chief executive.
The market turmoil was clearly reflected in NVIDIA shares, which fell 14% at Thursday’s open, according to the Associated Press. The agency had reported that the stock was down more than 7% to $160.85 before the opening bell, leaving it 34% below the record high it reached just over a month earlier. These figures reflect a sharp move in shares of the company at the center of the AI boom during the same session as news of Huang’s departure. By contrast, sector stocks did not move in one direction: AMD and Broadcom shares rose during the turmoil. Reuters said AMD gained 1.7% and Broadcom 0.8%, while IREN and Applied Digital fell.
Sector pressures overlap with regulatory concerns tied to data center expansion. Reuters reported that AI stocks struggled after Democrats won the midterm elections, including in states opposed to building new data centers. The result raised concerns that tighter regulation could slow the construction of AI infrastructure. Separately, Ballotpedia reported that some ballot measures would have limited development if approved, while others would have facilitated it. These positions do not mean that all the measures became effective restrictions, but they highlight the divide among proposals concerning data center expansion.
The announced partnership between NVIDIA and IREN links the stock move to a joint AI infrastructure expansion project. On May 7, 2026, the companies announced a plan to support the deployment of up to 5 gigawatts of infrastructure. IREN granted NVIDIA a 5-year right to buy up to 30 million common shares at an exercise price of $70 per share. The maximum value of the right is $2.1 billion, according to NVIDIA’s investor relations statement. The agreement provides direct context for investors’ interest in how the leadership change could affect the commercial relationship, but it does not establish that Huang’s departure alone caused IREN’s decline.
NVIDIA’s board announced on November 8 that it had opened an independent investigation following reports that a foreign intelligence agency had targeted Huang. The board said at the time it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised. Huang’s resignation comes days after the investigation was announced, while the company moved quickly to appoint interim leadership and name a board chair. Investors are also awaiting NVIDIA’s results, scheduled for November 17, the next milestone for assessing the company’s performance amid turmoil in AI stocks. IREN’s move in morning trading remains part of the market’s response during the announcement session, alongside the divergence between chipmakers and cloud infrastructure providers.