# Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia Chief Executive, Shares Drop as Much as 14% and Finance Chief Colette Kress Steps In

Nvidia's board named its chief financial officer interim chief executive and appointed its first chair. Analysts cut their price targets five days before the company reports quarterly results.

- Published: 2026-11-12T05:17:13.227Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-11-12/nvidia-shares-fall-about-8-after-hours-as-board-weighs-remov
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [MarketWatch](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasdaq-futures-fall-as-nvidia-sinks-8-after-hours-on-report-board-may-oust-huang-e99b898d?mod=mw_rss_topstories), [Financial Times Markets](https://www.ft.com/content/a93307a7-e2cd-4abd-bd89-c38832d8c40e?syn-25a6b1a6=1), [Globes (Hebrew)](https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001563130#utm_source=RSS), [The Japan Times (Business)](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/11/12/tech/nvidia-jensen-huang-affairs/)

Jensen Huang, Nvidia's co-founder, resigned on Thursday as president, chief executive and a member of the board, effective immediately, [the company announced](https://investor.nvidia.com/news/press-release-details/2026/NVIDIA-Announces-CEO-Transition/default.aspx). The board named Colette Kress, the chief financial officer, as interim chief executive. Kress joined Nvidia in 2013, and she will keep the finance role until the board names a permanent successor. Harvey C. Jones, a former chief executive of Synopsys, [became the board's first chair](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nvidia-shares-plunge-jensen-huang-resigns-1831919). The board said its search for a permanent chief executive will consider internal and external candidates. Nvidia's [regulatory filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001045810/000104581026000082/nvidiaannouncesceotransiti.htm) gives no reason for the resignation.

The shares [fell as much as 14%](https://thehill.com/business/6215959-jensen-huang-resigns-nvidia-stock-drops/) in the first minutes of trading. The previous regular-session close was $173.73. [Forbes reported](https://www.forbes.com/sites/fionariley/2026/11/12/nvidia-sinks-11-at-open-after-jensen-huang-resigns-pushing-market-cap-below-microsoft/) that the opening drop briefly took Nvidia's market value below Microsoft's $3.9 trillion. The stock then [recovered part of the loss](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/12/nvidia-nvda-jensen-huang-second-affair.html) and traded about 5% lower by 11 a.m. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon downgraded the stock to market perform and cut his price target to $200 from $400. "With the new allegations, it feels impossible to us for the board to keep him in the role," Rasgon wrote. Citigroup [lowered its target](https://mlq.ai/news/bernstein-oppenheimer-and-melius-downgrade-nvidia-after-huangs-exit-as-william-blair-upgrades-amd/) to $225 from $285, and Oppenheimer withdrew its target, citing uncertainty. On Wednesday evening the stock had already [fallen about 8% in extended trading](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasdaq-futures-fall-as-nvidia-sinks-8-after-hours-on-report-board-may-oust-huang-e99b898d?mod=mw_rss_topstories), and that decline pulled Nasdaq-100 futures lower. The [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/a93307a7-e2cd-4abd-bd89-c38832d8c40e?syn-25a6b1a6=1) put the late decline at almost 9%. [Seoul Economic Daily](https://en.sedaily.com/world/2026/11/12/nvidia-shares-sink-8-percent-after-hours-on-report-of-move) quoted a price of $159.31, down 8.3%.

Huang admitted to an affair in a message to employees. The Israeli business daily [Globes reported](https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001563130#utm_source=RSS) (in Hebrew) that he had two relationships outside his marriage. According to Globes, the first was with a woman whom the US government reportedly regards as a Chinese intelligence agent. The New York Times reported that the second was with a vice-president who reports directly to him. Nvidia has not confirmed either account. On November 8 the board had [said it had confidence in Huang](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/nvidias-stock-dives-board-weighs-234215054.html). [The Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/11/12/tech/nvidia-jensen-huang-affairs/) reported that Nvidia had hired an outside firm to identify chief executive candidates, and that the company had no succession plan for a founder whose public identity is closely tied to the company.

Kress takes charge five days before Nvidia [reports third-quarter results on November 17](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/330561/20261112/jensen-huang-resigns-nvidia-shares-tumble-interim-ceo-kress-keeps-cfo-job-before-earnings.htm). The resignation followed a strong session for chip stocks. On Wednesday the S&P 500 [rose 1.31% to 7,619.38](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/stock-market-today-nasdaq-futures-131247889.html) after CoreWeave's results revived buying in artificial-intelligence stocks, and every member of the Philadelphia semiconductor index closed higher. Interest-rate conditions were already tightening. October consumer prices [rose 0.4%](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/10/cpi-inflation-report-october-2026.html), and the core measure rose 0.3% for a third straight month. Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said she sees a case for two more quarter-point increases. The 10-year Treasury yield last closed at 4.98%.

The case also has a national-security side. US officials suspect that Chinese intelligence targeted Huang, and that suspicion has [renewed congressional pressure](https://theprint.in/world/nvidia-row-puts-us-china-trade-truce-to-test-with-xi-set-to-welcome-trump-next-week/3096566/) on the administration to reverse its approval of H200 chip sales to China. The pressure comes as President Trump prepares to visit Chinese President Xi Jinping.

## What this means

The market is pricing two risks at once, and the second matters more. The first is key-person risk at the largest single weight in US equity indexes. Because so much passive and benchmarked money holds Nvidia, a leadership shock also affects the Nasdaq-100, Asian suppliers and lenders to AI data centers. The second is policy risk. If Washington treats Nvidia's leadership as a counterintelligence problem, the company's China export licenses and its access to the White House become bargaining items rather than settled facts, and that touches revenue directly. The consensus treats the episode as a governance story that ends once a successor is named, and that view may be too narrow. The closest precedent is Hewlett-Packard's removal of Mark Hurd in 2010 over a personal-conduct inquiry: the shares fell sharply and the company went through years of leadership turnover. All of this is happening while higher-than-expected inflation data and Fed officials' public discussion of further rate rises are already increasing the discount rates applied to long-duration growth stocks. The likelier outcome is that the board names an interim chief executive within weeks, and Nvidia keeps trading at a discount to its pre-scandal multiple until two things happen: a permanent successor is named, and the H200 license question is settled at next week's Trump-Xi meeting. This read is wrong if the board keeps Huang and the White House publicly reaffirms the China chip approvals.

## What to watch

- Nvidia's November 17 third-quarter report and forecast, presented by Kress while she holds both the finance and chief executive jobs. Steady guidance would suggest that demand from data-center customers does not depend on Huang personally. A weak outlook or vague answers on leadership could extend Thursday's losses.
- The board's search for a permanent chief executive, which will consider internal and external candidates. An early choice of an internal engineering or product leader would point to continuity in strategy. A long search or an outside hire would extend the uncertainty that led Oppenheimer to withdraw its price target.
- Whether Washington reverses or limits its approval of H200 chip sales to China after the reports of suspected Chinese intelligence contact with Huang. A reversal would cut off revenue from China, and it could complicate the US-China trade truce ahead of Trump's visit to Xi.
- Whether more analysts cut their ratings or price targets, and whether large cloud customers comment on their orders. Bernstein and Citigroup have already lowered their targets. Public reassurance from major buyers would suggest that the drop reflects leadership risk and not a change in demand.