Nvidia Board Prepares to Oust Huang as Shares Plunge 8 Percent After Hours
Nvidia shares plunged in after-hours trading Wednesday after reports that the board is preparing to oust chief executive Jensen Huang. The stock closed the regular session at $173.73, up 2.87 percent from the previous day, but fell to $159.63 as of 7:39 p.m. Eastern time in after-hours trading, down 8.12 percent from the close.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the board is preparing to remove Huang and could meet as soon as Wednesday to decide his future, citing people familiar with the matter. The move follows two extramarital affairs. No decision to remove him has been announced, and no successor has been named.
The second affair was reported earlier Wednesday by The New York Times. The other party was Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, who reports directly to Huang. The Times said five company employees told it about the relationship. The two were filmed being affectionate at a San Jose hotel during the developer conference in March, and Huang’s security team offered the person who filmed them a nondisclosure agreement. The Times said it did not view the recording.
Powell is 48, joined Nvidia in 2008 and is married. When the Times contacted Huang, he said, “I don’t think you should be talking to me directly,” and hung up, the paper said. Powell did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia’s code of conduct lists personal relationships among activities that may create a conflict of interest.
The first affair involved Alice Huang. Huang admitted infidelity in a message to employees on Nov. 8, and the board announced an independent investigation the same day. U.S. authorities have concluded that Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset, according to reports. Megaspeed bought $4.8 billion worth of Nvidia chips over two years. Reuters said it could not independently verify the intelligence allegation, and China’s Foreign Ministry called it groundless.
The Justice Department is now leading multiple investigations involving Alice Huang, the Journal reported. President Donald Trump said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the matter but did not identify its target or scope. Huang has not been charged with anything.
The board publicly backed Huang only days ago. When it announced the investigation on Nov. 8, the board said it had confidence in Huang and his leadership team and had no reason to believe that national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised.
The succession question is open. Huang has about 60 direct reports and has said he does not believe in succession planning. Nvidia has never publicly named a successor.
Nvidia declined to comment on either report. The independent review led by Wachtell is continuing. The market reaction went beyond Nvidia. CoreWeave fell 8 percent in after-hours trading to $55.95.
The next dates are the earnings report on Nov. 17 and a closed House briefing on Nov. 18. Market expectations are earnings of $2.53 a share and revenue of $111.4 billion. The deadline for lead plaintiff motions in the class action is Jan. 8, 2027.