Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO and leaves the board; CFO Kress takes over as interim chief

Jensen Huang has resigned as president, chief executive and director of Nvidia, effective immediately, ending a 33-year run as the company's leader. Nvidia disclosed the move Thursday in a Form 8-K on SEC EDGAR and a press release attached to it. This follows our reports on the reported board move and the overnight meeting with no decision.

What the filing says

• Interim CEO: Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, 59, who has held that role since 2013, becomes interim CEO and keeps the CFO job until a permanent successor is named.
• New chair: Harvey C. Jones, 73, a director since 1993, is appointed Chair of the Board. The press release calls it the first-ever chair role. The 8-K says the board accepted the resignation and made the appointment on November 11.
• The search: the board is starting a search and will consider internal and external candidates.
• The message to customers: Jones said the board expects "operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption."
• Earnings stay on schedule: third-quarter fiscal 2027 results are still set for Tuesday, November 17, at about 1:20 p.m. PT, with the call at 2 p.m. PT.

Neither the 8-K nor the release gives a reason for the resignation, and Huang is not quoted. CNBC's live coverage ties it to the past week's disclosures about Huang's personal relationships and a board-commissioned investigation, led by the law firm Wachtell Lipton, into reports that a woman he was involved with is believed by U.S. intelligence officials to be a Chinese spy. Huang has denied compromising national security or Nvidia secrets. We are not repeating further personal details.

The market's first answer

CNBC reported the stock fell nearly 10% after the announcement, taking Nvidia's value under $4 trillion. By 10:26 AM ET, Nasdaq.com showed Nvidia at $165.14, down $8.59 or 4.94% from Wednesday's $173.73 close, with a market value of about $3.98 trillion. So roughly half of the early drop had been recovered by mid-morning. Our chart data put the shares about 31% below the October 6 peak.

What it does to an index fund

Using the index weights Reason Foundation's Leonard Gilroy gave Fortune last night (about 6% of the S&P 500 and 10% of the Nasdaq 100), a 4.94% fall is worth about 0.30 points to an S&P 500 fund (0.06 x 0.0494) and 0.49 points to a Nasdaq 100 fund. At the worst of the early drop, near 10%, those figures were roughly double. That is a single-stock estimate with approximate weights, and it moves with every tick.

Why next Tuesday matters more than today

The scheduled call is the first real test. Kress will be reporting the quarter as CFO and presenting the company as interim CEO, with no permanent successor named. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon told CNBC it is unclear who could be the "visionary" for the next decade, and Bernstein cut its price target on the stock in half, from $400 to $200, according to CNBC. Those are the analysts' views, not ours. What customers and suppliers want to hear is the roadmap and supply commitments Jones's statement promised, and what Kress says about export-control exposure.

Washington is the second track. House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast told reporters Huang is willing to testify as early as next week, and did not rule out a subpoena if talks stall, CNBC reported. Our report on the Senate records letter covers the other thread.

What to watch

• Whether the shares hold the mid-morning recovery into the close (our markets page).
• Any naming of a permanent CEO or a dated search timeline.
• The November 17 results and guidance, and the date and format of any congressional appearance.

Sources: Nvidia Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1 on SEC EDGAR; CNBC; Nasdaq.com quote data read at 10:26 AM ET (prices can be delayed); Fortune via our earlier report; chart from Yahoo Finance data. This is market information, not investment advice.