NVIDIA Falls 9% as Board Reportedly Prepares to Oust Jensen Huang

NVIDIA stock fell 9% to $158.78 in morning trading on November 12, after The Wall Street Journal reported the board is preparing to remove Jensen Huang as CEO. Intel slid 4% to $59.95 in the same session, while AMD gained 0.3% to $554.65 and Broadcom inched higher on expectations the turmoil could shift business their way, according to Bloomberg.

The board has not confirmed any plan to oust Huang, and the allegations surrounding him remain unproven. The company faces a separate test shortly: on August 26, NVIDIA disclosed it expected third-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, and its upcoming earnings report will show whether that guidance holds.

What triggered the boardroom push?

The Wall Street Journal reported on November 11 that NVIDIA's board is preparing to oust Huang and could meet soon to decide his fate. The New York Times added that Huang allegedly had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA's vice president of health care. Congress is reportedly prepared to subpoena him as well.

The reports followed disclosures on November 8, when Huang acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and NVIDIA opened an investigation into reports that he was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort involving a woman U.S. officials deemed a Chinese spy. At the time, NVIDIA's board stated it had "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised." President Trump has praised Huang as an "amazing guy" and an "honorable man."

Why the leadership vacuum matters

NVIDIA's governance structure amplifies the risk. The board reportedly has no chair, the company has no chief operating officer, and there is no clear succession plan. Huang has about 60 direct reports. Governance experts have suggested chief financial officer Colette Kress or lead independent director Stephen Neal as possible interim CEOs.

D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria warned the situation could "hasten a transition the company is not prepared for." Seaport Research Partners analyst Jay Goldberg noted that NVIDIA is "sold out" and stated that "it's all contracted into next year, but it loses a lot of its luster."

How are rivals trading?

The turmoil is splitting the semiconductor group into winners and losers. Intel's 4% drop is smaller than NVIDIA's slide, but the direction is the same, and The Wall Street Journal reports NVIDIA's leadership crisis is also dragging on U.S. stock futures.

AMD and Broadcom sit on the opposite side of the selloff. Bloomberg reported that NVIDIA's turmoil is lifting both companies on expectations they could pick up business.

The selloff follows a strong November 11 session in which the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the NASDAQ 100 climbed 2.3%. Hot inflation data has traders pricing in a December Federal Reserve rate hike as a near-certainty. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee called the latest Consumer Price Index report "borderline disturbing."

How does NVIDIA's model stand apart?

NVIDIA sells merchant AI graphics processors alongside networking hardware and its CUDA software ecosystem, and its Vera Rubin platform is now in full production. That full-stack model ties hyperscalers, AI clouds and government buyers closely to NVIDIA's roadmap, which helps explain why questions about leadership carry so much weight.

AMD is a fabless challenger pairing EPYC server processors with Instinct accelerators and Helios rack-scale systems, making it the closest merchant alternative to NVIDIA. Intel runs a different playbook as an integrated device manufacturer that designs Xeon and Core processors and operates its own foundry. Broadcom builds custom AI chips and networking silicon for a small group of hyperscalers, a model that sits outside NVIDIA's merchant approach.

What comes next?

Whether the board formally acts on Huang's future, and whom it names as an interim leader, will determine the next chapter. Bulls can point to sold-out supply and contracted demand that do not depend on any single executive. Bears see an abrupt transition at a company without a chair or a chief operating officer disrupting execution on its product ramps.

An official statement from NVIDIA's board, whenever it arrives, will likely shape how AMD and Intel trade in the near term. Until the leadership question resolves, traders may prefer to keep their exposure small.