Nvidia shares dropped nearly 6% in US premarket trading after reports emerged about uncertainty surrounding CEO Jensen Huang’s future with the company. The decline put Nvidia at the forefront of early losses among tech giants and raised concerns about the company’s market capitalization, with potential losses surpassing $200 billion if the trend continues throughout the session.
Board discussions and CEO controversy
The recent sell-off in Nvidia followed media reports alleging an extramarital affair involving Jensen Huang. According to sources familiar with the matter, Nvidia’s board of directors is currently discussing whether Huang should remain in his position amid the allegations.
Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia and has served as its CEO since its inception in 1993. Nvidia is widely recognized as a leader in graphics processing unit (GPU) technology, powering cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
Market analysts have emphasized the significant influence Huang holds within the technology sector. Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge noted in a market report:
“Huang’s departure would undoubtedly deliver a significant blow to the company.”
Nvidia drives tech stock losses, competitors and partners diverge
At 04:35 am New York time, BIT Stock Platform data showed Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.6% and S&P 500 futures down 0.3%. The drop in Nvidia’s share price accounted for more than half the losses among Nasdaq 100 futures, signaling heightened selling pressure on the semiconductor giant.
Meanwhile, shares of cloud infrastructure firm CoreWeave, which surged sharply a day earlier, fell by about 5%. Nvidia’s competitors, such as Broadcom and AMD, recorded gains despite the broader tech sector’s decline, highlighting the divergent performance among semiconductor and cloud-related stocks.
Mini dictionary: CoreWeave is a US-based cloud computing provider focused on delivering high-performance infrastructure solutions, particularly for AI and computational applications.
| Stock/Index | Price Move |
|---|---|
| Nvidia | -6% (premarket) |
| CoreWeave | -5% |
| Broadcom | Up |
| AMD | Up |
| Nasdaq 100 Futures | -0.6% |
| S&P 500 Futures | -0.3% |
Target price cuts and contract volume spike
Amid the uncertainty, major investment banks adjusted their outlook for Nvidia’s stock. The Royal Bank of Canada cut its target price from $330 to $230. Citigroup also lowered its projection, reducing its previous target of $285 down to $225.
Interest in Nvidia-related financial instruments climbed sharply. On Trade.xyz, the trading volume for Nvidia contracts hit a record $970.54 million on November 11, based on on-chain data.
On-chain data indicated that Nvidia contract volumes on Trade.xyz surged to a historic $970.54 million, marking an all-time high.
Mini dictionary: Trade.xyz is a blockchain-based platform that enables trading of tokenized contracts and derivatives, providing on-chain transparency for financial traders.
Speculation around CEO succession intensifies
Betting activity on Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market, reflected increased speculation regarding Nvidia’s leadership. The odds for “No change” in the CEO position rose from 19% to 29%, making it the leading outcome. Ian Buck, Nvidia’s Senior Vice President of High-Performance Computing, emerged as the second favorite at 25%, followed closely by Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress at 23.3%.
Despite shares of Broadcom and AMD moving higher, Nvidia’s losses accounted for most of the sell-off in Nasdaq 100 futures, suggesting that the CEO decision could shape both the company’s and the tech index’s direction in the coming period.
