If you own Nvidia stock, every $1,000 of it at Wednesday’s close was worth about $918 in after-hours trading. The shares closed at $173.73 on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, then were down 8.2% at $159.49 in after-hours trading as of about 6 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The drop came after The New York Times reported a second affair and a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report said Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust Jensen Huang, the company’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO), after two extramarital affairs, one of them with a suspected Chinese spy.
What the WSJ Reported
The WSJ cited people familiar with the matter and said the board was preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to decide Huang’s future, Reuters reported. Earlier the same day, The New York Times reported that Huang had an affair with a company executive who reported to him. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
That leaves a report, not a decision. As of Wednesday evening, Nvidia’s board had not announced that Huang is leaving, and its formal statement on November 8 said: “The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate.” The same day, a spokesperson told ABC News: “Jensen is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption.”
How It Got Here
November 8, the board’s investigation. Nvidia’s board opened “an independent investigation in light of recent reporting that founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort,” overseen by a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel. The board said it had “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised.”
The same day, Huang’s memo. In an email to staff, Huang wrote: “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did.” The message did not name anyone.
The woman at the center. The New York Times and the Financial Times reported that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen linked to a Singapore-based company that was buying Nvidia’s advanced chips, had been under surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies, which found she had been recruited to spy by China’s top intelligence agency, NBC News reported. The two Huangs are not related. China’s Foreign Ministry called the spy allegation “unsubstantiated.” In a statement dated December 2025, Megaspeed, the Singapore company where Alice Huang has been an executive, said reviews by the U.S. Commerce Department, Malaysia’s trade ministry and Nvidia found no evidence of illicit chip transfers.
November 9, Trump and a lawsuit. President Donald Trump said Huang told him by phone he “had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy,” and Trump said he believed him. A lawsuit seeking class action status was filed the same day on behalf of an Nvidia shareholder, alleging the company “made false and misleading statements” about Huang’s interactions with Alice Huang. Nvidia stock fell 4.27% that Monday, closing at $178.67, then fell about 5.5% on Tuesday before recovering about 2.9% on Wednesday.
Why Washington Is Involved
The United States restricts exports of Nvidia’s most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, and Huang has pushed for broader AI chip exports there. Megaspeed has been accused of helping restricted Chinese companies acquire Nvidia AI chips. The Information reported on November 10 that Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang dates back to 2023 and enabled Chinese companies to acquire $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips. Shanghai Century Litong, a company named in that report, told The Information: “Our company has no business dealings with Ms. Huang.”
The New York Times reported on November 9 that Nvidia contacted U.S. Commerce Department investigators in August 2025 seeking information about a probe into Megaspeed, and that the case moved to the Justice Department after Commerce officials raised concerns about that contact. The Justice Department is now conducting a criminal inquiry into Megaspeed, according to that report.
Congress is moving too. Three Republican committee chairs, Representatives Brian Mast, John Moolenaar and Rick Crawford, asked Huang to attend a closed-door briefing, writing that “recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC’s access to sensitive U.S. technology and information,” with PRC meaning the People’s Republic of China. The letter gave Huang until November 11 to respond, and Mast told ABC News he is prepared to subpoena Huang if he does not. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Congress “will need a full briefing.”
What Wall Street Is Saying
Analysts and investors split on how much Huang himself is worth to the stock. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives said on November 10 that if Huang were removed, Nvidia would be “worth a lot less (25%-30%) as a company/stock.” Dan Niles of Niles Investment Management said the product pipeline would carry the company for the next couple of years and that Huang has “a very deep bench,” while also calling him “completely” important. On Wednesday, Baird analyst Tristan Gerra cut his rating to Neutral in a note titled “Icarus’ Rise and Fall; Company Will Be Fine,” citing pending government investigations and “uncertainties around CEO tenure.”
Nvidia was the world’s second-largest publicly traded company as of Friday, November 6, worth nearly $4.5 trillion.
Dates to Watch
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| As soon as November 11 | Board may meet to decide Huang’s future, per the WSJ report |
| November 17 | Nvidia reports third-quarter earnings |
| November 18 | Closed-door briefing House Republicans asked Huang to attend; ABC News reported it is not known if he will appear |
If you hold Nvidia directly, the November 17 earnings report is the company’s next scheduled event.
Sources (8)
- investing.com Reuters: Nvidia is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang, WSJ reports
- x.com WSJ: Nvidia board preparing to oust Jensen Huang
- finance.yahoo.com Yahoo Finance: NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Historical Data
- finance.yahoo.com Yahoo Finance: Nvidia live updates
- investor.nvidia.com NVIDIA: Statement from NVIDIA Board of Directors
- cnbc.com Nvidia investigates CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with alleged Chinese spy
- nbcnews.com Nvidia opens investigation after CEO Jensen Huang's affair with alleged Chinese spy
- abcnews.com Trump says Nvidia CEO told him he didn't know he was involved with alleged Chinese spy
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