Nvidia shares plunge 5% in premarket trading amid Jensen Huang scandal

[Financial News, New York — Correspondent Lee Byung-cheol] Allegations that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was implicated in a Chinese spy scandal have surfaced, sending Nvidia shares down more than 5% in trading before the U.S. market opened. Uncertainty over Huang’s future is weighing on investor sentiment as Nvidia’s board launches an independent investigation.
On the 9th (local time), Nvidia shares fell at least 5% in premarket trading from the previous session’s close. They fell more than 5.6% at one point, sliding to the $176 range.
The sharp drop followed reports that CEO Huang had an extramarital relationship with businesswoman Alice Huang, who is suspected of providing information to Chinese intelligence. U.S. intelligence agencies have been investigating whether Megaspeed, a Singapore-based technology company Alice Huang is affiliated with, diverted Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. The Chinese government, however, categorically denied the related espionage allegations.
Nvidia’s board has launched an independent investigation in response to reports that CEO Huang had become a target of foreign intelligence agencies’ intelligence-gathering activities. Huang said he would fully cooperate with the investigation.
Wall Street observers say Huang’s future has emerged as a new factor that could determine Nvidia’s share price.
Dan Ives, senior managing director at Yorkville Ives & Company, told CNBC, “Investors’ biggest concern is whether Jensen Huang can continue to serve as CEO. Wall Street will likely consider it likely that he will remain, but with the board’s investigation underway, anything could happen.”
However, he dismissed calls for Huang to be replaced as CEO as “a joke.” He stressed that while the situation is a serious matter for Nvidia, it does not change the company’s competitive position: it remains two to three years ahead of China in AI semiconductor technology.
There are also concerns that the fallout could spread across the semiconductor industry. In premarket trading that day, shares of major semiconductor companies, including Intel, Marvell, Qualcomm and Arm, also fell more than 1%.
Joachim Klement, an investment strategist at Panmure Liberum, said, “The impact is currently limited to Nvidia,” but forecast that “if Huang’s position is put at risk, Nvidia could reduce its support for companies in the U.S. and Asia, and the shock could spread to other semiconductor companies.”
Meanwhile, Nvidia is set to report its third- and fourth-quarter results on the 17th.




[email protected] Correspondent Lee Byung-cheol Reporter