Is Nvidia Stock in Trouble? Jensen Huang Apologizes as Nvidia's Board Opens an Investigation

UPDATE Nov 10, 11:15 AM PT: Nvidia has hired Wachtell Lipton for the board's independent probe of CEO Jensen Huang, according to The New York Times, with the work led by partner Joon Kim, a former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Pressure is also coming from Washington: Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called President Trump's defense of Huang troubling and asked for a full accounting, and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a full congressional briefing and tighter limits on U.S. chip sales to China. NVDA is still trading near its lowest level since March 31, about 5% lower on the day. Earnings are due Nov 17.

UPDATE Nov 10, 9:05 AM PT: Microsoft passed Nvidia in market value intraday, about $4.035 trillion vs $4.032 trillion, the first time since June 2025. Nvidia was down about 5.4% near $169, and its value is down roughly $1.7 trillion since Oct 6. On Monday's close Nvidia still led by about $266 billion. Earnings are expected Nov 17.

3:15 AM PT UPDATE (Nov 10): The Information reported Tuesday, citing two people who know her, that Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, the Chinese businesswoman U.S. officials allege was working for Beijing, helped enable at least $7.5 billion of Nvidia chip shipments, with ties dating back to 2023. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters. Separately, Bank of America was reported to have removed Nvidia, Micron and Lam Research from its US 1 List of top stock picks. CPI hits at 5:30 AM PT, so NVDA's premarket reaction to the report will compete with the inflation print for the open.

UPDATE Nov 9, 7:15 PM PT: Bloomberg reports Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter called Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler in late summer 2025 about a Bureau of Industry and Security probe into suspected AI-chip smuggling by Singapore-based Megaspeed International, asking whether BIS played a role in Singapore's detention of Megaspeed executive Alice Huang. In the weeks after, BIS investigators were reportedly told to route any Nvidia contact through Kessler or get pre-approval, a restriction Bloomberg says applied only to Nvidia. Per trade records analyzed by Bloomberg, Nvidia's inventory tallies given to the U.S. government undercounted chips sold to Megaspeed via hardware partners by about 50,000 units, worth billions of dollars; Nvidia later said it found the hardware in additional warehouses but did not give a count. Nvidia says it consults with officials to resolve diversion allegations promptly, Megaspeed denies diverting chips, and NBC News separately reports the Justice Department asked Commerce to pause its part of the probe after Nvidia's outreach.

UPDATE Nov 9, 5:15 PM PT: A separate New York Times investigation published Monday found the Commerce Department cleared roughly two dozen Chinese companies to buy or handle Nvidia's H200 chips, the older but still powerful AI chip President Trump allowed to be sold to China in late 2025 with a 25% cut to the U.S. government. The list includes Baidu, BYD, Tesla Shanghai, Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance, but two approved server assemblers, New Matrix and Maginfra, had empty offices at their listed addresses, and several approved firms have ownership ties to U.S.-blacklisted companies or Chinese military suppliers, per the Times. Direct China sales are only a tiny slice of Nvidia's revenue, so the revenue hit is small. The bigger risk for NVDA is policy: the report adds to the case in Congress for tighter China chip controls in the same week lawmakers want answers from Huang.

UPDATE Nov 9, 2:15 PM PT: Nvidia and Jensen Huang were sued Monday in a proposed securities class action accusing them of defrauding shareholders by concealing Huang's ties to a suspected Chinese spy, per Reuters. Speaking at the White House Monday afternoon, President Trump said he spoke with Huang, said he was "amazed" by the allegations, and said the FBI is "looking into it in terms of something else." House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Congress needs more information and backed China chip restrictions in the defense bill. NVDA closed at $178.67, down about 4.3% from Friday's $186.64, while the Nasdaq 100 rallied about 3%. The stock recovered from the open low, but legal and political headlines are now stacking on top of the board review.

UPDATE Nov 9, 8:15 AM PT: The New York Times reported Monday that a U.S. Commerce Department investigation into suspected Nvidia chip smuggling to China, centered on Singapore-based Megaspeed, was halted and transferred to the Justice Department after Nvidia's legal team contacted investigators. Nvidia has previously said its own checks found no evidence its chips were diverted. The report ties the board probe to the export-control question, so the risk is now regulatory as well as governance. NVDA fell as much as 8% on Monday before selling eased, per Yahoo Finance, while the broad market rallied: around 8:10 AM PT the Nasdaq Composite was up about 2.6%, the S&P 500 about 2.1% and the Dow about 1.7%, per Yahoo Finance, with Brent crude down about 3% near $95.

UPDATE Nov 9, 7:10 AM PT: Monday's cash open gave the first full read. NVDA opened at $173.04, about 7.3% under Friday's $186.64 close, and hit a low near $170.24 before buyers stepped in. By about 7:00 AM PT it was back near $177.86, down about 4.7%, per Yahoo Finance. The Guardian put the opening hit at roughly $335 billion in market value. The rest of the chip group went the other way: AMD opened up about 7% and Micron about 3%, per TradingKey, and the VIX fell more than 4 points to about 21.5. So far the market is treating this as a Nvidia leadership question, not an AI demand problem. The level to watch is that $170 opening low.

UPDATE Nov 8, 7:15 PM PT: NVDA traded about 3.8% lower in Sunday overnight trading, near $179.60 vs Friday's $186.64 close (Robinhood overnight data via Wall Street Observer; FinancialJuice cited a ~3.5% drop on the Blue Ocean venue). Asia did not follow it down: Japan's Nikkei opened up about 2% (The Business Times) and Taiwan's Taiex rose as much as 6.4%, its biggest gain since July, as Taiwan's new short-selling curbs and its NT$500 billion stabilization fund took effect (Bloomberg). Separately, Huang said China is not an enemy and called US chip policy a mistake. The bigger tell for Monday is whether NVDA's overnight dip holds into the 6:30 AM PT cash open while chip stocks in Asia rally.

UPDATE Nov 8, 4:15 PM PT: Futures opened at 6 PM ET with Nasdaq 100 futures down about 0.8% and S&P 500 futures down about 0.4%, per CNBC. Within minutes dip buyers erased the drop, and by early evening Nasdaq futures were up about 0.3% and S&P futures up about 0.1%. Separately, CNBC reports three Republican House committee chairs asked Huang to appear at a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18. The board probe is still open, so the key-man question is not settled by one green futures session.

On a Sunday, with markets closed, the CEO of a company worth about $4.5 trillion sent his entire staff a letter that opened with an apology. "I was unfaithful to my wife," Jensen Huang wrote (Nvidia newsroom). The same day, Nvidia's board said it is opening an independent investigation into reports that Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort (Board statement).

This is not a rumor anymore. Both documents are on Nvidia's own newsroom, and CNBC published the full staff email and board statement (CNBC). The question every NVDA holder will type into Google tonight is simple: is Nvidia stock in trouble?

The facts in one table

What Nvidia said, and what it did not

Read the two statements closely. Huang's letter is a personal apology plus a commitment: "I am fully committed to NVIDIA and will work to earn back your confidence." The board's statement is about process. It names who runs the inquiry (independent directors and outside counsel) and says the board "prioritizes U.S. national and economic security, which is paramount to the interests of NVIDIA and its shareholders."

What neither statement does: give a timeline, say what the investigation will cover beyond "all available information," or address the chip sales to the Singapore-based company named in the reporting (NBC News). Those gaps are where the next headlines come from.

Why this hits NVDA at an awkward moment

NVDA closed Friday at $186.64, per Nvidia investor relations. On Oct. 6 it closed at $239.24. That is a drop of about 22% in a month, including a slide from $200.13 to $181.60 on Thursday's AI selloff (our recap of that day). The stock was already wobbling before anyone read this letter.

Huang is not a normal CEO in investors' minds. He founded the company, he is its public face with customers and governments, and he has been a key voice against tighter chip export controls on China. A story that mixes him, China, and national security lands right on the policy fight Nvidia cares about most.

If/then: what to watch when NVDA trades again

• If Nasdaq 100 futures and NVDA in overnight and pre-market trading barely move, the market is treating this as a personal scandal with a board already in control, not a business event.
• If NVDA loses Thursday's close near $181.60 early in the week, the headline is adding to an existing downtrend, and $181 becomes the level everyone quotes.
• If lawmakers formally demand briefings or hearings, or a U.S. agency comments on the chip buyer named in the reports, the story moves from governance to export-control risk.
• If the board names its outside counsel and gives a timeline quickly, that usually calms governance worries. Silence for weeks keeps the overhang alive.
• If any customer, partner, or government delays an Nvidia deal and cites this, that is the first real business impact. Until then, it is headline risk.

Not financial advice. This is a developing story and facts may change. Nothing here guarantees any market outcome.

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Your call: Should Jensen Huang stay on as CEO while his own board investigates, or should Nvidia put someone else in charge until it is done? Pick a side in the comments.