Huang Out at NVIDIA: Shares Down 30%, Roadmap Intact

By Rebecca Stone

Jensen Huang resigned as NVIDIA's CEO on Thursday, Nov. 12's morning news cycle, and the stock — already down more than 30% from its October highs — plunged again. Shares closed the week at $164.06, off 5.6%, with a consensus price target of $283.63 still sitting 72.88% above that price on the back of 56 analyst ratings.

The collapse was fast. On Sunday, Nov. 8, Huang publicly admitted to marital infidelity after earlier reports linked his relationship to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. NVIDIA's board announced an independent investigation the same day. Monday brought the sell-off. Wednesday brought reports of a second alleged affair. Thursday brought the resignation.

Who runs NVIDIA now?

CFO Colette Kress has taken over as interim CEO. No permanent successor has been chosen, and the search itself is only the first of the company's problems.

The probe has drawn federal attention. President Donald Trump confirmed on Nov. 9 that the FBI was investigating the allegations. Congressional leaders have asked Huang to appear at a Nov. 18 briefing on the suspected espionage effort and NVIDIA's security protocols. The company says it has no reason to believe national security or proprietary information was compromised — but the investigations could raise questions about its internal security procedures, its relationships with government officials, and its compliance with U.S. export restrictions.

Legal exposure is building too. A shareholder lawsuit filed Nov. 9 alleges NVIDIA and Huang misled investors about the relationship and its potential national-security implications. Nothing has been established in court. Still, the uncertainty compounds.

Does the roadmap survive him?

Here the picture brightens. Huang was central to NVIDIA's rise, but the multi-year product cycle he set in motion limits how much his absence changes the next several years.

Since 2022, NVIDIA has recycled profits back into its technology, supply chain and customer lock-in across product generations. The lineup:

• Blackwell — the current workhorse, in full production, expected to remain the pillar through year's end.
• Vera Rubin — the next cycle, in production now and ramping, expected to drive growth over the next one to two years.
• Feynman — the following generation, planned for 2028.

That gives new leadership an established foundation. The full strategic impact of Huang's exit may not register for years.

Can AMD grab share?

AI demand doesn't hinge on one executive. Recent earnings from NVIDIA, AMD, Micron, Marvell, Credo, Astera Labs and Oracle all tell the same story: orders outpace supply, capacity ramps are underway, initial investments are monetizing, and several quarters of acceleration lie ahead.

AMD is the obvious challenger. It's ramping its rack-scale GPU business and pairs it with CPU sales that support AI inference workloads. Any disruption to NVIDIA's product development or customer relationships could hand AMD market share. But there's a catch: if the investigation triggers tighter oversight of advanced semiconductor exports, the resulting restrictions could hurt the entire industry, not just NVIDIA. AMD's opportunity is real, but far from guaranteed.

Is the dip worth buying?

Someone is buying. Cathie Wood's ARK Invest purchased 90,443 NVIDIA shares across five ETFs on Nov. 9, worth roughly $16.2 million at that day's close. Vanda Research counted $111 million in individual-investor purchases in the first 30 minutes of Thursday's session. Short-sellers, meanwhile, may be amplifying the swings.

The sell-off has compressed valuation sharply — investors appear to be pricing in a far gloomier outlook than NVIDIA's recent financial performance supports. The next verdict arrives Nov. 17, when the company reports fiscal Q3 earnings.

What's next for Huang?

Career-wise, his exit could open doors in pure AI, physical AI and robotics. SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk has already publicly expressed interest in hiring him. A startup focused on next-gen AI architecture is another possibility. He faces no criminal accusations, but the ongoing investigations could complicate any next move.

For NVIDIA, the question is starker: can the AI powerhouse Huang built keep delivering growth without him? The answer will depend less on the scandal than on whether his successors preserve the trajectory he left behind.