Nvidia Names CFO Kress Interim CEO as Stock Hits 52-Week Low

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) hit a 52-week low of $148.80 on November 12, 2026, the same day the company named CFO Colette Kress, 59, interim chief executive after Jensen Huang resigned effective immediately.

The change appears in Nvidia's 8-K filing and its CEO transition release. Kress keeps the CFO title until the board names a permanent replacement, and the board is searching both inside and outside the company. Huang resigned amid reports that he was the target of a suspected Chinese intelligence effort, which China denies.

The stock closed at $166.19, down $7.54, or 4.34%, leaving Nvidia's market value at about $4.01 trillion. It traded at $167.82 at 7:59 p.m. ET in after-hours trading.

Is Kress Harder on OpenAI Than Huang Was?

The claim rests on anonymous sources who describe Kress as a pragmatist who opposed Huang's largest financing commitments. The leadership change itself is confirmed; the reported opposition covers her time as CFO and took place mostly inside the company. Nvidia did not comment.

The Information reported that she opposed a proposed $250 billion credit backstop that would have let OpenAI fill 8 gigawatts of data-center space with Nvidia chips. The Information also reported that Nvidia later split the arrangement and has guaranteed about $100 billion so far.

Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that a $250 billion plan for an OpenAI project in Ohio was cut to $120 billion. The Information reported that figure too. CNBC framed the dispute around a $105 billion backstop. Each outlet gives a different figure, so these are separate accounts, never to be added together. No report says Kress has canceled or changed an OpenAI deal as interim CEO. The hard fact is the succession; the posture toward OpenAI remains an unconfirmed account.

How Much Revenue Rides on Backstops?

A backstop is Nvidia's promise to cover a customer's obligation if that customer cannot pay. It lets the buyer order chips sooner, but it moves credit risk onto Nvidia's own books.

The last quarterly filing showed $36 billion of off-balance-sheet backstops for neoclouds and $20 billion tied to data-center leases. On the August earnings call, Kress said OpenAI's commitments totaled roughly 12 gigawatts of Nvidia compute through 2030. She also said labs backed by Nvidia's balance sheet would make up about a quarter of the business over the following year. A stricter posture therefore affects a real share of revenue, not a hypothetical one.

Were Tighter Terms Already Priced In?

Adil Malik of Origin Partners said Nvidia's backstop standards had already tightened over roughly the past three months, before Kress took the top job. That matters because customers have pressed Nvidia to enlarge its backstop, which covers up to 25% of a deal through residual value support. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) has offered to cover a larger share and wins business by taking on the risk Kress reportedly opposed.

Separately, the August memos with Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and four other firms to raise more than $500 billion remain preliminary. People familiar with the matter said the talks have produced no deals in months, and the earliest an announcement could come is January 2027.

The market data cuts both ways. Shares fell 27.28% over the past month. Over the same stretch, the latest quarter showed revenue of $96.221 billion, up 105.85%, and guidance of $108.0 billion for the current quarter. At a trailing P/E of 33, a more careful backstop policy would trade some growth for revenue that depends less on Nvidia's own credit, lowering the company's credit exposure while Broadcom carries more of it.

What Must Kress's First Earnings Report Answer?

Kress faces her first earnings report as interim CEO on November 17, with the call at 2 p.m. PT. The open questions are updated backstop totals, any comment on OpenAI, and whether guidance holds. A close below $148.80 after that report would set a new 52-week low, and the balance between OpenAI exposure and credit discipline is the number investors will watch.