Two Funds and 55,000 Signers Press Nvidia Board Over Huang Exit

Nvidia lost roughly $573 billion in market value over the week ended November 13, and two of its better-known shareholders have decided that is enough reason to write to the board. The letter arrived Friday. A public petition went further and asked for Jensen Huang back.

The proximate cause is straightforward. On November 12, Nvidia disclosed in an 8-K filing that Huang resigned as president, CEO and director. CFO Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO, and the board has opened an independent review.

The stock closed Friday at $162.85, down 2.01%, for a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion. It was quoted at $161.04 at 7:59 p.m. ET. The two campaigns overlap in sentiment but differ in what they actually request. They are best judged separately.

What do the funds want?

Altimeter Capital founder and CEO Brad Gerstner posted on X at 6:47 p.m. ET that a letter had gone to the board setting out what he called the minimum standards it owes shareholders. The post had drawn about 732,000 views by roughly 1:10 a.m. ET on November 14.

Atreides Management managing partner and CIO Gavin Baker posted the same letter at 7:34 p.m. ET. It asks the board to skip a rushed permanent CEO pick and run a slow, measured process that keeps every option open, including Huang's return.

The letter says major questions remain about the events behind his exit. It says Kress and her team can lead in the meantime, and it leaves the final decision to the board. Its requests stop at process. Reinstatement, a shareholder vote, new directors and a special meeting are all off the table.

A separate letter threatening mass resignations circulated on X on Friday. It was reported as fake.

How much stock stands behind the letter?

As of June 30, Altimeter held 9,413,589 Nvidia shares worth $1.88 billion, or 19.2% of a $9.83 billion portfolio. Atreides held 1,249,291 shares worth $250.0 million, about 1.7% of a $14.34 billion portfolio.

At Friday's close, those share counts would be worth about $1.53 billion and $203 million, or roughly $1.74 billion together. That equals about 0.04% of Nvidia's shares. Neither fund had filed a third-quarter 13F as of early Saturday, ahead of the November 16 deadline.

Altimeter has far more money at stake than Atreides. The two funds' influence over the board comes instead from their public profile.

Who signed the petition?

The "Stand with Jensen" open letter asks the board to reinstate Huang while the independent investigation runs, or explain with evidence why not. It also seeks the inquiry's scope and timeline, a fair hearing and a timely public explanation.

At 1:07 a.m. ET Saturday it carried 55,078 names, up from about 36,000 late Friday. People identifying themselves as current Nvidia employees rose from about 2,993 to 3,574. Most signatures come from outside the company: 30,524 shareholders and 20,414 supporters, plus 566 self-described former employees.

Affiliations are self-reported, and the site says Nvidia and Huang have not endorsed it. Listed signers include Elon Musk, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Baker, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, and Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan.

Employee sentiment still matters. Nvidia's value rests on engineers who can leave, and an internal post urging the board to weigh that sentiment drew more than 1,600 comments.

What has the board said?

No response from the board or Huang to either letter had appeared by early Saturday, and Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment. The board said Friday it is still selecting a search firm, has not formally engaged candidates, and considers speculation premature.

That pace already matches what the funds requested. Kress will likely lead the next quarterly report, expected November 17 after the close.

What do the fundamentals say ahead of earnings?

Fiscal second-quarter revenue was $96.221 billion, up 105.85%. Third-quarter guidance was $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%. Kress has said fiscal 2028 growth of approximately 70% is limited by supply, not demand.

The stock has fallen 26.41% in a month and now trades at about 33 times trailing earnings. Nvidia's demand environment likely remains solid, because Vera Rubin orders and supply commitments were set before Huang left, and signed purchase orders stay in force through a CEO change.

The test comes November 17. If revenue lands near $108.0 billion and Kress reaffirms the fiscal 2028 outlook, the selloff overshot; a guidance cut would break this case. For now, the order book is the one part of the story nobody is petitioning about.