Nvidia board preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang after affairs with alleged Chinese spy and Nvidia executive (WSJ, Nov 11)

What happened

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening, Nov. 11, that Nvidia's board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang after he had two extramarital affairs — one with Alice Huang, a Singapore-based data-center executive U.S. intelligence officials believe is working for China's intelligence services, and a second, newly reported affair with Kimberly Powell, a senior Nvidia executive who runs the company's healthcare business and reports to Huang (first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday). The board is planning to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine his future, according to people familiar with the matter. Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading on the report. Polymarket bettors put 77% odds on Huang leaving his position by resignation or removal by year-end.

Who’s affected

• NVDA — down about 8% in after-hours trading on the report, extending a probe-driven slide; loss of its co-founder and CEO of 33 years would be a key-man shock for the world's most important AI chipmaker
• AMD — up about 4% in after-hours trading as investors bet customers diversify away from Nvidia
• Broadcom (AVGO) — up about 2.8% after hours on the same diversification logic
• Intel (INTC) — down 2.7% after hours, caught in the broader chip selloff
• Semiconductor sector / SOX — Asian chip markets fell Thursday (Taiwan Taiex -2.6%, Kospi -0.6%, Nikkei -0.7%) as the leadership crisis hit the already-fragile AI trade; Nasdaq futures fell 0.9%
• Chinese AI chip designers — MetaX and Cambricon rallied over 8% each in Shanghai trading on bets domestic suppliers gain share at Nvidia's expense
• Mag 7 / Nasdaq 100 — Nvidia is the AI trade's bellwether; a CEO ouster raises the risk premium on the whole AI capex complex

Sources

wsj.comwsj.comwsj.comwsj.com