Nvidia (NVDA) shares dropped about 10% in premarket trading on Thursday after CEO Jensen Huang announced his resignation, effective immediately. Early quotes placed the stock near $158.58, and premarket prices dipped to $153.50, compared with Wednesday's close of $173.73.

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, who has held the CFO role since 2013, has assumed the role of interim CEO while retaining her existing duties as chief financial officer. The board has opened a search for a permanent successor that will consider both internal and external candidates.

Harvey C. Jones, the former CEO of Synopsys, has become the first chairman in Nvidia's board history and will oversee the hunt for a permanent chief executive.

"BREAKING: Nvidia, $NVDA , CEO Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO, President, and member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/IJE8wWvcrR" — The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter), November 12, 2026, via X

The company did not give a reason for the resignation, and Huang has not publicly commented. Nvidia thanked Huang for his contributions to the company and the wider industry. He co-founded the chipmaker in 1993 and, over more than three decades leading the company, built it from a graphics-chip startup into one of the world's most valuable companies, with its processors anchoring much of the global AI computing buildout.

How the Week Unraveled

Pressure on Huang had been building for days. Barron's noted that the stock was already down 7% for the week through Wednesday's close.

Reports of two alleged relationships drew scrutiny. One involves a businesswoman who is reportedly suspected by US intelligence of helping route restricted chips to Chinese firms. The other, according to The New York Times, involves Kimberly Powell, who runs Nvidia's healthcare business.

Nvidia's board announced an independent investigation on Nov. 8. At the time, it said it had no reason to believe that national security or company secrets had been compromised, and Huang pledged to cooperate.

The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that the board was weighing his removal, and directors met to discuss his future.

Washington added to the pressure. Sen. Kevin Cramer said Huang should step down, while Rep. John Moolenaar said Huang could face subpoenas if he skipped a request to appear before three House committees.

Wall Street Reacts

Citi's Atif Malik cut his price target to $225 from $285, saying that Kress could serve as interim CEO while the board looks outside the company for a successor.

Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered his price target to $200 from $400, although he said he does not expect major operating problems during the leadership search.

KeyBanc's John Vinh had already moved the stock to Sector Weight from Overweight, pointing to higher strategic and execution risk.

Based on Wednesday's after-hours prices, Nvidia trades at under 11 times forward earnings, well below its five-year average of 33.7 times.

On Polymarket, bettors favored Arm CEO Rene Haas as the leading outside candidate for the role. Haas previously worked at Nvidia as a vice president.

Beyond the succession race, another thread to watch is the independent board investigation announced on Nov. 8.

Futures on the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 were down 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF fell 2.9%. Nvidia is among the most heavily weighted constituents of both benchmark indexes and the largest holding in the semiconductor ETF, so its swings feed directly into broader market moves.

Nvidia confirmed that it will report third-quarter results on Tuesday, Nov. 17, as scheduled — the company's first quarterly report under interim leadership.

Source: Blockonomi