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Reports of a Jensen Huang third affair landed as Nvidia closed down 4.3% at $166.19 on November 12. Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that Huang had an intimate relationship with a second Nvidia employee, hours after Nvidia announced he had resigned as CEO, president and director, effective immediately. For your money: Nvidia still reports earnings on November 17, the board probe has published no findings, and the stock has lost roughly $1.6 trillion in market value since early October, according to CNBC.
Key takeaways
- Nvidia closed November 12 at $166.19, down $7.54 (4.34%), after opening more than 13% lower and falling below $4 trillion in market value (CNBC, Fox Business).
- CNBC says Nvidia is down 29% over a streak that is on track to be six straight weekly losses, its longest since 2012. On a $10,000 stake that’s $2,900 gone.
- On the same day the Nasdaq Composite slipped only 0.39% (Yahoo Finance). So $10,000 in a broad Nasdaq fund lost about $39, against $430 for the same amount in Nvidia alone.
- The next hard number arrives Tuesday, November 17 at about 1:20 p.m. PT (6:20 a.m. KST on November 18), when Nvidia reports third-quarter fiscal 2027 results under interim CEO Colette Kress (Nvidia press release).
What did Reuters report about a Jensen Huang third affair?
On Thursday afternoon, November 12, Reuters reported that Huang had an intimate relationship with a second Nvidia employee. It cited two people familiar with the matter. Yahoo Finance’s live blog logged the report at 2:42 p.m. ET, a few hours after Nvidia had filed his resignation with the SEC.
Reuters did not name the woman or describe her role, and said it could not reach her. Nvidia declined to comment. Huang, Kimberly Powell and a board representative did not respond to requests for comment, according to Mediaite, ThePrint and Newsweek.
Why is it being called a third affair?
Reuters’ own wording was “a second Nvidia employee.” The “third” count comes from outlets such as Newsweek, ThePrint, Yahoo Finance and Mediaite. They add the Reuters report to two earlier reported relationships: one with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Nvidia customer Megaspeed, and one with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s vice president of health care, reported by The New York Times.
One fact needs to be kept straight. Alice Huang is a Chinese citizen and a former TV reporter. She is not related to Jensen Huang, she is not his wife, and she is not an Nvidia co-founder (ABC News, Newsweek).
What is still unknown about the Reuters report?
Quite a lot. No source gives a timeframe for the relationship. The report rests on two unnamed people, and nobody named in it has commented.
The only personal admission on record is Huang’s November 8 message to staff, which said he had been unfaithful and named no one. I’d treat the Reuters story as a serious report and nothing more until Nvidia, Huang or the board responds.
Jensen Huang scandal timeline: from a staff apology to resignation in five days
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led it for 33 years (Mediaite, CNBC). Here is how that ended, using only what was confirmed or attributed at each step.
October 29: the intelligence report
The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials believe Alice Huang was gathering information for Beijing. That is an allegation, and it is disputed. CNN reported on November 12 that the intelligence so far does not prove she spied for Beijing and that officials disagree on how strong the evidence is. China called the claims “baseless and purely slanderous smears against China” (ABC News).
Sunday, November 8: the apology and the probe
Huang wrote to employees that he had been “unfaithful to my wife,” adding: “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
The same day, the board said a committee of independent directors with outside counsel would investigate reporting that he had been “the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” It said it had “confidence in Jensen and his leadership team” and “no reason to believe” national security or company secrets were compromised (ABC News, Newsweek). I covered that stage in our piece on the admission and the probe.
Tuesday, November 10, and Wednesday, November 11: the board turns
CNBC’s live blog says the hiring of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to examine the spying allegations was announced Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Times reported a romantic relationship between Huang and Kimberly Powell, who reported directly to him. The paper said the two were seen on camera in March at a San Jose hotel “being affectionate with one another,” and said it had not seen the footage.
That evening The Wall Street Journal reported that the board was preparing to meet to decide whether to oust him. Shares fell more than 9% after hours. Sources told CNBC the board made its decision Wednesday night, and the regulatory filing says it accepted the resignation that night (Newsweek).
Thursday, November 12: the exit, then Reuters
Nvidia’s 8-K press release said CFO Colette Kress becomes interim CEO and keeps the CFO role until a permanent successor is named. Harvey C. Jones became the company’s first-ever board chair and said: “The Board has full confidence in Colette and the leadership team.” The board will look at internal and external candidates.
Our profile of Kress as interim CEO has the background. Hours later came the Reuters report.
Why did Nvidia stock open 13% lower, then close down only 4.3%?
The selling started before the bell. Fox Business reported Nvidia down more than 10% in premarket trading. At the open the drop was more than 13%, taking the company below $4 trillion in market value and to a new 52-week low (CNBC). Mediaite put the intraday low at $148.80.
Then buyers showed up. Nvidia closed at $166.19, down $7.54 or 4.34% from Wednesday’s $173.73, recovering about half of the opening drop (CNBC, Newsweek). Yahoo Finance reported that retail investors bought a net $111 million of Nvidia in the first 30 minutes alone.
My read is simple. Much of the shock was already priced on Wednesday night, when the stock fell more than 9% after hours on the WSJ report. By Thursday morning the question had shifted from “will he go” to “what does Nvidia look like without him,” and the Reuters report hit a stock that had already taken the leadership blow.
How much market value has Nvidia lost since October?
Nvidia set a closing high of $239.24 on October 6 (CNBC). As of Thursday’s close it was down 11% for the week and 29% over its losing streak, with roughly $1.6 trillion in market value gone, according to CNBC. The figures for the week alone conflict: Yahoo Finance put the drop since the prior Friday at about $490 billion, while CNBC’s live blog said more than $740 billion. I’d quote neither as precise.
| Nvidia level | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Closing high, Oct. 6 | $239.24 | CNBC |
| Close, Wed. Nov. 11 | $173.73 | Mediaite, CNBC |
| Intraday low, Thu. Nov. 12 | $148.80 | Mediaite |
| Close, Thu. Nov. 12 | $166.19 (-4.34%) | Fox Business, CNBC |
| Change this week (to Thursday) | -11% | CNBC |
| Change over the losing streak | -29% | CNBC |
| Market value lost since early October | About $1.6 trillion | CNBC |
Is Nvidia’s sixth weekly loss final?
Not yet. The streak is on track to be six straight weekly declines, the longest since 2012, but Friday’s U.S. session decides it. Until the weekly close prints, it’s a trend, not a record.
How does the Nvidia scandal hit index funds, bonds and the wider market?
Here’s the part most people miss. On November 12 the Nasdaq Composite fell only 0.39% and the S&P 500 fell 0.35% (Yahoo Finance). Nvidia is one of the biggest holdings in both indexes, yet its 4.34% drop barely dented them that day. That gap is what diversification does on a single-company shock.
The monthly picture is harsher. The Nasdaq is down 4.97% over a month, and the reason isn’t only Nvidia.
Why rising Treasury yields make the Nvidia selloff worse
The 10-year Treasury yield sat at 5.1% on November 12 (Yahoo Finance). MarketWatch reported bond yields just saw their biggest surge since 2022 as expectations grow for more Fed rate hikes, and CNBC reported traders strengthening those hike bets. The effective fed funds rate was 3.88% on November 10 (New York Fed).
Why that matters for a chip stock: investors value growth companies on profits years away, then discount those profits back at something tied to bond yields. When the 10-year climbs, those future profits are worth less today. Analysts call this long-duration risk (a stock whose value sits mostly in the distant future reacts more to rates). Nvidia is losing its founder in exactly the rate setting that punishes long-duration stocks hardest.
The dollar, bitcoin and Korean stocks: a risk-off week
The U.S. dollar index stands at 103.17, up 3.21% in three months (Yahoo Finance), and CoinDesk reported it hit a 19-month high. A strong dollar plus high yields is the textbook risk-off mix (money leaving speculative assets for safety). Bitcoin was down 15.38% in a month as of November 13, and KOSPI is down 11.95% over the same span (Yahoo Finance). If you own Korean chip names, our note on Samsung and SK Hynix after the Huang exit covers that side.
Did the scandal spread to other chip stocks?
Some of it did. Semafor and Bloomberg reported that U.S. prosecutors are looking into whether organizations linked to Alice Huang diverted Super Micro AI hardware to China. Super Micro shares fell 12% on November 12 (Yahoo Finance, CNBC).
CNBC also reported that Nvidia’s turmoil is prompting a rotation across chip stocks. Those are reports and early moves, not settled facts.
| Asset | 1-day move | 1-month move | Source, date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | -4.34% | -29% over streak | Fox Business, CNBC, Nov. 12 |
| Super Micro | -12% | Not given | Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Nov. 12 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.39% | -4.97% | Yahoo Finance, Nov. 12 |
| S&P 500 | -0.35% | -1.64% | Yahoo Finance, Nov. 12 |
| Bitcoin | -3.26% | -15.38% | Yahoo Finance, Nov. 13 |
| Gold | +0.34% | -6.51% | Yahoo Finance, Nov. 13 |
By the numbers
- At Nvidia’s 4.3% drop on November 12 (CNBC), a $10,000 position lost about $430 that day.
- At the Nasdaq Composite’s 0.39% fall on November 12 (Yahoo Finance), $10,000 in a broad Nasdaq fund lost about $39.
- At the 29% slide over Nvidia’s losing streak (CNBC, November 13), $10,000 held from the start is down $2,900, leaving about $7,100.
- From Wednesday’s $173.73 close to Thursday’s $148.80 intraday low (Mediaite), 100 shares showed a paper loss of $2,493 at the worst moment.
How we calculated: Nvidia’s November 12 move and 29% streak loss from CNBC, the Nasdaq’s November 12 move from Yahoo Finance, and the $173.73 close and $148.80 low from Mediaite, applied to a $10,000 example position or 100 shares.
What did Wall Street analysts say after Jensen Huang resigned?
These are third-party views reported on November 12, not this blog’s. Bernstein cut its price target to $200 from $400 and downgraded the stock to Market-Perform (Yahoo Finance).
D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria cut his target to $200 from $300 and kept a buy rating (CNBC). KeyBanc said Huang’s departure represents “a material increase in strategic, organizational, and execution risk” (CNBC).
The KeyBanc line names the real issue: key-person risk (the danger that a company’s value depends heavily on one leader). Investors have priced Nvidia’s strategy as Huang’s strategy for 33 years. Kress is a long-serving CFO, and the market now has to decide how much of that strategy belongs to the company and how much left with him.
Politics added noise. President Trump posted on Truth Social suggesting Apple CEO Tim Cook take over: “A Legend replaces a Legend!” (Mediaite, Yahoo Finance). Nvidia’s board has said only that it will consider internal and external candidates.
Is the Nvidia spy probe proven? What is alleged and what is known
Nothing has been proven. The board’s committee, assisted by Wachtell Lipton, has published no findings. It hasn’t found wrongdoing, cleared Huang, or found that secrets leaked. On November 8 the board said it had “no reason to believe” national security or company secrets were compromised.
The spying claim around Alice Huang comes from the Times’ October 29 report on U.S. intelligence officials’ views. CNN reported that the intelligence is disputed inside government, and Beijing has denied it.
Newsweek, citing the Times, reported that Huang’s security detail isolated a bystander who recorded the March hotel video and offered a nondisclosure agreement. ABC said it could not verify that reporting or the video.
Why the probe matters more for the stock than the personal reports
The relationship reports are about conduct. The probe touches export controls, customers and China, which feed straight into revenue. That’s why the Super Micro diversion report moved a second stock 12%.
If the probe ever ties Nvidia’s own sales to diverted hardware, it becomes a business story. Nobody knows yet whether it will.
Common mistakes investors make in a scandal selloff
I’ve made a couple of these myself in past cycles, so take this as experience, not theory.
- Treating reports as confirmed. The Reuters story rests on two unnamed sources. Prices can swing on a report and swing back on a denial or a clarification.
- Trading the open. Premarket was down more than 10%, the open more than 13%, the close 4.3%. Anyone who sold in a panic at the open locked in a much worse price than the close.
- Anchoring to the old high. The $239.24 October high is history. What matters now is the earnings outlook under new leadership and the rate setting, with the 10-year at 5.1%.
- Forgetting what you already own. Many people hold Nvidia twice, once directly and again through index funds, and don’t add the two together.
A note on the bounce. Retail buying $111 million in 30 minutes (Yahoo Finance) shows strong conviction. It does not tell you where the floor is. Retail dip buying has met falling knives before.
FAQ
Did Jensen Huang have a third affair?
Reuters reported on November 12, citing two people familiar with the matter, that Huang had an intimate relationship with a second Nvidia employee. Outlets including Newsweek and Mediaite count it as the third reported relationship. It isn’t confirmed: Nvidia declined to comment and Huang did not respond.
When did Jensen Huang resign from Nvidia?
Nvidia announced on Thursday, November 12, 2026 that Huang stepped down as president, CEO and board member, effective immediately. The filing says the board accepted his resignation the night before, Wednesday, November 11.
Who is running Nvidia now?
CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO and keeps her CFO job until a permanent successor is named. Harvey C. Jones is the company’s first-ever board chair. The board will consider internal and external candidates.
Who is Alice Huang?
She is a Chinese citizen, a former TV reporter and an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer. She is not related to Jensen Huang and is not his wife. U.S. intelligence concerns about her, reported by the Times, are disputed according to CNN, and China denies the allegations.
Why did Nvidia stock fall?
The CEO’s sudden exit, a board probe with no findings yet and a series of reported relationships hit at once, on top of a slide that began in early October. Rising Treasury yields, with the 10-year at 5.1%, also weigh on high-growth stocks. Nvidia closed November 12 at $166.19, down 4.34%.
Is Nvidia still reporting earnings on November 17?
Yes. Nvidia will report third-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Tuesday, November 17 at about 1:20 p.m. PT, which is 6:20 a.m. on November 18 in Korea. It will be the first report under Kress as interim CEO.
What I’d watch before Nvidia reports on November 17
First, Friday’s close. It decides whether the six-week streak becomes the longest since 2012, according to CNBC’s count. Then the November 17 call: I care less about the revenue line than about what Kress says on demand and leadership, because that’s where key-person risk either shrinks or grows. Our earnings preview has the setup.
After that come the political dates. Rep. Brian Mast said Huang agreed to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, and Sen. Tim Scott requested a December 3 Senate Banking appearance (Yahoo Finance, CNBC).
Any response from Nvidia or the board to the Reuters report, and any timeline for the Wachtell-assisted probe, would matter more to the stock than another anonymous report. For broader context, our earlier piece on Huang’s resignation and the 13% open covers day one.
None of this is a call to buy or sell. This is not financial advice, so do your own research.
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Sources cnbc.com · mediaite.com · theprint.in · newsweek.com · abcnews.com · sec.gov
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile; you can lose all of your money.