Nvidia shares fall again after Jensen Huang resigns

Nvidia shares closed 2.01% lower on Friday at $162.85, following a 4.34% fall on Thursday, when the company announced Huang’s resignation. The stock ended the week about 13% below its 6 November close, according to market data provider StockTitan.

The market had begun reacting before Nvidia’s announcement. Reuters reported that the shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was preparing to fire Huang.

Other chipmakers also fell on Friday: AMD lost 8.75% and Broadcom 4.76%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.

The wider moves cannot all be attributed to Huang’s departure. AI-linked shares had come under pressure earlier in November, and the major indexes ended this week higher: the Nasdaq gained 2.3% and the S&P 500 rose 2.5%, according to the Associated Press.

Huang co-founded Nvidia and led it for more than three decades, building it into a leading supplier of chips used in artificial intelligence. The company said chief financial officer Colette Kress would serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. She will retain her finance role, and Harvey C. Jones has been appointed board chair.

On 8 November, Huang told employees he had been unfaithful to his wife. That day, Nvidia’s board announced an independent investigation following reports that he had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The board said at the time that it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets had been compromised.

Nvidia did not give a reason for Huang’s resignation in its announcement. It is due to report its quarterly results on 17 November.