NVIDIA Loses $180B After Huang's Sudden Exit

According to market data, major U.S. stock indexes closed lower on Thursday (November 12), as investors reacted to NVIDIA's announcement that CEO Jensen Huang had resigned. NVIDIA shares fell 4.34% to close at $166.19, wiping approximately $182 billion off the company's market capitalization. The stock initially plunged nearly 14% before recovering much of its losses. Meanwhile, semiconductor companies Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) moved higher, gaining approximately 5.9% and 5.54%, respectively.

NVIDIA officially announced that Huang had resigned as the company's president, CEO, and a member of its board of directors, effective immediately. The board appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO while beginning the search for a permanent successor. Kress will continue serving as CFO during the transition. NVIDIA also appointed Harvey C. Jones as the first-ever chair of its board.

Major U.S. Stock Index Performance on Thursday (November 12)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 189.40 points, or 0.36%, to close at 52,297.09.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 100.10 points, or approximately 0.39%, to 25,366.09.

The S&P 500 dropped 26.98 points, or 0.35%, to 7,592.40.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) decreased 57.44 points, or 0.54%, to 10,506.67.

Despite NVIDIA's decline, AMD and Broadcom shares advanced, reflecting different investor reactions among major semiconductor companies. Their gains also highlighted continued market attention on competition in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market.

NVIDIA's leadership transition comes at a time when AI computing demand continues to shape the global semiconductor industry. Investors will be watching how the company manages the executive transition and maintains its competitive position in AI and accelerated computing.