Nvidia Slides 12.75% in a Week as Interim CEO Kress Faces First Earnings Test

Nvidia (NVDA) closed at $162.85 on Friday, down $3.34 or 2.01 percent, and slipped further to $161.04 in after-hours trading, according to StockAnalysis. The stock lost 12.75 percent for the week. It now sits roughly 32 percent below its record close of $239.24, set on 6 October, as reported by StockTitan. Tuesday's fiscal third-quarter results arrive amid unusual turmoil: they will be the first under interim CEO Colette Kress, appointed after Jensen Huang resigned on 12 November.

What happened to the Friday bounce?

Nvidia opened Friday near $170, above Thursday's close of $166.19. The rally failed within hours. The stock sold off for most of the session, touched a low of $158.39, and closed at $162.85. Yahoo Finance reported that the stock "extended declines on Friday", the second session after Huang's resignation.

Two forces weighed on the price. First, more analyst downgrades. HSBC cut Nvidia to Hold on Friday and lowered its price target to $170 from $365; analyst Frank Lee said investor confidence had been "shaken", according to Yahoo Finance. Yahoo Finance counted at least ten Wall Street analysts who have moved the stock from Buy to Hold since the resignation news broke.

Second, the story behind the exit kept developing. Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter, a further relationship between Huang and an Nvidia employee, via CNBC. These remain allegations in news reports, not established facts. Nvidia has not given a reason for the resignation. The board has published no findings. That gap is itself part of the story.

The wider market offered no support. Friday's US producer price data kept a December Federal Reserve rate increase close to fully priced. Memory names fell harder than Nvidia: Sandisk lost 5.59 percent and Micron 2.52 percent.

What does Tuesday's report need to show?

The consensus, as cited by Yahoo Finance on 13 November, calls for earnings per share of $2.47 on revenue of $109.2 billion. Both figures represent roughly 90 to 91 percent growth from a year earlier. Nvidia will release results at about 1:20 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday 17 November, with the call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific, per the company's investor relations schedule.

The numbers matter less than usual this quarter. Investors will listen for whether Kress repeats the outlook Nvidia gave under Huang, whether hyperscaler orders have changed since the leadership news, and what the board says about the succession search. Kress retains the CFO title while the search proceeds, according to Nvidia's 8-K filing.

Not every analyst has turned cautious. Wedbush's Matthew Bryson wrote on Friday: "We again expect NVDA to exceed its forecast and to guide FQ4 above Street" (Yahoo Finance). Cantor Fitzgerald's CJ Muse cut his target to $250 from $350 on Thursday but kept an Overweight rating, per CNBC. Stifel holds a $205 target with a Buy rating; Baird is at $200 with a Neutral rating.

Options traders expect a large move, though the estimates diverge. Bloomberg options data imply a move of about 6.7 percent, via Investing.com; Benzinga measured about 9.6 percent at Thursday's close, the largest pre-earnings reading for Nvidia since August 2024. The gap stems from different expiries and measurement dates. Applied to Friday's close, that implies a swing of roughly $11 to $16 in either direction, or a range of about $147 to $178.

Who might succeed Huang?

The board will consider both internal and external candidates, according to the 8-K. On Friday, prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket gave Nvidia's Ian Buck, head of the company's hyperscale computing business, about a 40 percent chance of the job. The Financial Times reported Arm's Rene Haas among the names discussed, via Yahoo Finance. Neither Nvidia nor the candidates has confirmed anything.

Where are the price levels?

The week traced a steady decline: $178.67 on Monday, $168.89 on Tuesday, $173.73 on Wednesday, $166.19 on Thursday with an intraday low of $148.80, and $162.85 on Friday.

• Bear case, $149: A weak outlook on Tuesday or new allegations send the stock back to Thursday's panic low of $148.80 — about 8.6 percent below Friday's close.
• Base case, $158-$174: Results meet expectations and the stock stays inside this week's range, between Friday's low of $158.39 and Wednesday's close of $173.73.
• Bull case, $187: Kress delivers a beat and an outlook above the Street, and the stock recovers the entire slide to the $186.64 close of 6 November — about 14.6 percent above Friday's close.

These are reference levels measured from Friday's close, not forecasts. Note the asymmetry: the bull level exceeds the options-implied move, so it requires a clearly better report than the market expects. Every analyst target quoted, from HSBC's $170 upward, sits above Friday's close.

What to watch

• Monday 16 November: The first session after a weekend of press coverage; $158.39, Friday's low, is the first support level.
• Tuesday 17 November, 8:30 a.m. ET: US October retail sales, forecast from flat (Admiral Markets) to 0.2 percent (Newsquawk).
• Tuesday 17 November, ~1:20 p.m. Pacific: Nvidia fiscal Q3 results; call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific.
• Wednesday 18 November, 2:00 p.m. ET: Minutes of the Fed's October meeting.
• Thursday 19 November: The Anthropic listing, the next test of investor appetite for AI shares.

The week ahead turns on one event. If Kress reaffirms guidance and the board says anything concrete about succession, the options-implied move suggests $174 is reachable; if the outlook falters or fresh allegations surface, Thursday's $148.80 low stands as the floor the market has already tested.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Stock prices are volatile. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser before making investment decisions.