Where things stand
- New interim CEO: The board announced on Thursday that Jensen Huang has resigned after 33 years at the company he founded, and Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO.
- A series of scandals: The decision follows a board meeting held late Wednesday, in the wake of reports that Huang had a relationship with an Nvidia executive. The CEO was already under scrutiny due to reports of an affair with a different woman, allegedly a Chinese spy. The board hired a law firm to investigate.
- Congressional leadership seeks action: House GOP leaders are in discussions with Jensen Huang regarding a closed-door briefing before key committees early next week, according to two Republican chairmen. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is also demanding a classified briefing with members of Congress.
Updates
- Share price drop: Nvidia shares closed 4% down after Huang's resignation, erasing around $182 billion in market value. They dropped as much as 14.35% at the opening bell, temporarily wiping out roughly $600 billion in value, but recovered to close 4.34% lower.
- Market impact: The decline in Nvidia's shares weighed on the broader market. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.39%, and the S&P 500 dipped 0.35%.
- Industry peers: While Nvidia's shares fell, those of other major chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) gained by 5.86% and 5.54%, respectively, making them the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on Thursday.
- Related companies: Shares of Nvidia-backed company CoreWeave (CRWV) dropped by 6.86%.
- Recent performance: Nvidia is down 30.5% since its record high on October 6, erasing approximately $1.76 trillion in market value.
Kress’ role and insights
Colette Kress, as Nvidia's interim CEO, is no stranger to analysts and investors, having been the CFO during the company's rapid growth. During quarterly earnings calls, she typically provides an overview of Nvidia's business and highlights growth areas. While Jensen Huang is known as Nvidia's visionary, Kress often emphasizes how the company's technologies fit into the broader AI landscape. This includes the evolution from AI chatbots to agents, the increased use of AI models for video, audio, and image analysis, and the power constraints faced by AI data centers.
DOJ investigation
Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on Thursday that the Justice Department is investigating whether a Singaporean company was transferring advanced Nvidia chips to China. However, they have not concluded whether an executive of that company, Alice Huang, was acting as a Chinese spy and attempting to gain information from Jensen Huang.