Jensen Huang ouster: Nvidia board meets, shares fall 8%

Jensen Huang ouster: empty boardroom table at dusk beside a glass corporate tower — The Jensen Huang ouster question is before Nvidia's 11-member board, which can remove a CEO by majority vote. Illustration: AI-generated.

A Jensen Huang ouster is now under discussion at Nvidia, and the chipmaker’s shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday in the US, Reuters reported on 12 November. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the board was meeting to decide whether to remove its chief executive, Jensen Huang, after the Wall Street Journal first reported that directors were preparing to do so. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the meeting.

What happened

On Sunday 8 November, Huang sent employees a memo, published on the NVIDIA Newsroom, in which he acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and took “full responsibility”, according to Reuters. He gave no details. The board said the same day that it had opened an independent investigation, overseen by independent directors with outside legal counsel, into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Reuters said the board expressed confidence in Huang at that point.

The controversy began with reports about Huang’s relationship with a businesswoman whom US intelligence has said helped facilitate Nvidia chip shipments to Chinese firms, Reuters said, and whom Reuters described as alleged to be a Chinese spy. These are allegations, and the sources reviewed do not report a finding by any court or agency.

On Wednesday the New York Times reported, citing five people who worked at the company, that Huang also had an extramarital relationship with a Nvidia vice president who reports to him. Reuters said it could not verify that report, and Nvidia and the executive did not immediately respond to its requests for comment. Reuters also reported that Huang faces a potential congressional subpoena if he does not agree to a closed-door briefing on the allegations. President Donald Trump said he had not discussed the allegations with Huang and praised his work for the country, Reuters reported.

Key numbers

More than 8%: the fall in Nvidia shares in extended trading after the WSJ report, Reuters said.
About $600 billion: the market value Nvidia will have lost since the board announced its investigation, if the after-hours losses hold, per Reuters.
About $4 trillion: Nvidia’s value before the latest drop, according to Reuters.
3.6%: Huang’s stake in Nvidia, Reuters reported.
11: the number of Nvidia directors, all of them independent except Huang, per Reuters.

Jensen Huang ouster: stock chart screens on a trading floor showing a sharp drop — Nvidia shares fell more than 8% after hours as the Jensen Huang ouster reports spread. Illustration: AI-generated.

Who is Jensen Huang and how Nvidia got here

Huang, 63, is the founder and CEO of Nvidia, the company at the centre of the artificial intelligence chip boom, and Reuters said he has no obvious successor. Under Nvidia’s bylaws he can be removed “with or without cause” by a majority vote of directors, Reuters reported. Bloomberg reported that the board has been working with an outside firm to identify possible replacements, according to Reuters.

The pressure was already building. Founders in Frame reported on 10 November that a shareholder lawsuit accuses Huang of misleading investors. Rivals moved on the latest news: AMD shares rose 4% and Broadcom 3% in after-hours trading, while CoreWeave fell 6% and Nasdaq futures dropped about 1%, Reuters said.

What people said

Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, told Reuters that removing Huang immediately “could be challenging” because Nvidia “does not have a succession plan in place”. Armina Rosenberg of Minotaur Capital told Reuters that finance chief Colette Kress would be a natural interim CEO, adding: “Losing Jensen would be a real blow.”

Elon Musk weighed in on X on Thursday. Replying to a ZeroHedge post that read “Elon please hire Jensen”, Musk wrote “That would be an honor”, Business Today reported.

What happens next

No board decision had been reported at the time of writing, and Nvidia has not publicly confirmed any plan to remove Huang, Business Today said. Any Jensen Huang ouster would land days before Nvidia’s quarterly results, which are due on 17 November, according to Reuters. The unanswered congressional request for a closed-door briefing is the other date to watch.