Apple Rose Nearly 3,000% After Jobs; Cramer Asks If Nvidia Needs Huang

Apple shares rose 2,980.67% between Oct. 5, 2011 and the Nov. 10, 2026 close. That is the near-3,000% gain CNBC's Jim Cramer invoked on Nov. 9 to frame the question now facing Nvidia investors: can the AI chip leader keep compounding without founder Jensen Huang?

Cramer made the comparison on his Monday, Nov. 9 Mad Money broadcast, according to TheStreet. He recalled that investors who sold Apple after Steve Jobs died missed years of gains under Tim Cook. Nvidia holders, he argued, must now price in the chance the company carries on without its founder.

What Apple Shareholders Collected After Jobs

The numbers are stark. Apple's adjusted share price rose 2,980.67% from Oct. 5, 2011 through Nov. 10, 2026. Measured from Aug. 24, 2011, Cook's first day as CEO, the gain is 2,997.62%. These are adjusted prices and may include dividends, so they work like total-return figures. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF rose 555.41% over the same window, on a price-only basis.

Cook has since handed the company to John Ternus, who led his first earnings call as CEO for fiscal Q4 2026 on Nov. 2. Apple posted record September-quarter revenue of $114.48 billion, up 11.7% year over year. EPS of $2.10 beat the $1.9782 consensus, a 10th consecutive beat. Ternus said the quarter was "capping off our best fiscal year ever." The stock is up 30.69% year to date.

Why Nvidia Holders Are Weighing a Future Without Huang

Three developments drove the debate. Huang acknowledged in a Nov. 8 message to employees that he had been cheating on his wife. Nvidia's board said independent directors, supported by outside counsel, would investigate whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia's confidential information had been compromised, expressed confidence in Huang's leadership, and said he would cooperate.

Per TheStreet, a Nov. 9 shareholder lawsuit accused Nvidia and Huang of holding back information. Those claims are unproven. Bloomberg wrote that the bull case depends on Huang surviving the probe. Business Insider reported a rare Wall Street downgrade tied to the pressure on him this week.

Nvidia's August earnings call never touched succession. Huang fielded questions on strategy and supply while CFO Colette Kress handled the financials. No named successor or formal succession plan came up.

How Cramer's View Shifted Over Three Days

Cramer started from a long-standing rule. On Sept. 25, he said: "Own it, don't trade it. And they're Apple and Nvidia. A pair of revolutionary companies with outstanding management."

On Monday, he relaxed that rule. "Given the facts of the story, which seem to get worse with each update, we are going to have to consider owning shares in a Jensen-less Nvidia," he said. He added: "If that is the case, you can no longer be bound by our 'own it, don't trade it' mantra." He stressed that "Right now, Jensen is still working. He's still CEO. And he still has the support of NVIDIA's board of directors," and concluded: "We are not anxious to dump it. I still think NVIDIA is a buy, though we must be prepared for a change."

On Tuesday night his tone hardened. He urged the company to "Name an interim CEO, perhaps Ian Buck, to show that there is more to this company than one person. That's what's killing it." On CNBC's Squawk on the Street Wednesday, he took a middle position: "I think that in the end Jensen Huang will be there. I think that there are issues with Jensen Huang that have to do with the actual stature with our country that makes it so I know this is going to sound jingoistic, but do we need the guy?"

Nvidia Stock Swings While the Business Keeps Growing

Nvidia fell 4.27% on Nov. 9 to close at $178.67, wiping out nearly $190 billion in market value, per Reuters as cited by TheStreet. As of 12:05 PM ET on Nov. 11, shares traded at $176.13, up 4.29% on the day and down 5.34% for the year.

The business keeps growing faster than the stock suggests. Fiscal Q2 revenue rose 105.8% year over year to $96.22 billion. Q3 guidance calls for $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%. Nvidia's P/E of 34 sits below Apple's 38, even though Nvidia's 55.60% net margin is far wider than Apple's 27.60%.

Where the Apple Parallel Breaks Down

Apple's gains came under a planned succession. Cook was already CEO when Jobs died, and investors had watched him run operations. Nvidia faces an open board review with no successor named. Apple's run was also built on a consumer franchise decades in the making. Nvidia's management bench now matters as much as its Vera Rubin ramp.

Nvidia's next earnings report is expected after the close on Nov. 17, though the company has not confirmed the date. The report will show whether Nvidia delivered the guided $108.0 billion quarter and whether management addresses leadership directly. Whether Nvidia faces the founder-succession test at all depends on what its board finds.