Nvidia loses $1.6T as Huang's exit fuels longest weekly slide since 2012

Jensen Huang resigned Thursday after two extramarital affairs came to light — one with an alleged Chinese spy, the other with Nvidia's vice president of health care. The board, which convened late Wednesday once The New York Times published the second report, named finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO and launched a search for a permanent successor. Huang co-founded the chipmaker and ran it for 33 years, becoming one of President Donald Trump's most prominent corporate allies along the way.

The stock cratered 4.3% Thursday, dragging its weekly loss to 11% and putting Nvidia on course for a sixth straight weekly decline — its longest losing run since 2012. Shares have shed 29% over that stretch through Thursday's close, wiping roughly $1.6 trillion in market value and knocking Nvidia below Apple in the process.

The week started badly. The first affair surfaced over the weekend, prompting Huang to write employees an apology for being 'unfaithful to my wife.' By early Thursday morning he was out at the company that spent most of the year as the world's most valuable.

D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria cut his price target to $200 from $300 while keeping a buy rating, telling clients he expects 'a challenging transition for NVIDIA over the next few months.' He added that the market has 'appropriately adjusted.' Oppenheimer analysts said they anticipate solid earnings but warned that 'fundamentals to take a backseat near term,' and that Huang's exit 'could translate to a lingering share overhang.'

Plenty of the damage predates the scandal. Nvidia slid about 9% last week as midterm elections handed Democrats sweeping victories and voters passed dozens of ballot measures that could slow the AI buildout. Before that, the whole AI trade wobbled on fears that rising interest rates would squeeze debt-heavy buyers like neoclouds. Kress now faces quarterly results Tuesday, with analysts projecting 91% year-over-year revenue growth to $108.9 billion, per LSEG.