Nvidia’s board met late Wednesday to decide whether chief executive Jensen Huang keeps his job, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the board is preparing to remove him. The report, published on Wednesday, says the move follows two extramarital affairs, including one with a woman U.S. intelligence officials believe works for China’s intelligence services. As of early Thursday, Nvidia had announced no decision.
The board meeting is the sharpest turn yet in a crisis that began on Sunday, when Huang told staff he had been unfaithful to his wife. The board opened an independent investigation the same day. Three days later, the Journal reported that directors were preparing to oust the founder who has led Nvidia since 1993.
Shares fell about 8 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the report, erasing a daytime gain. The stock had closed the regular session at $173.73, up 2.87 percent, after falling 5.5 percent on Tuesday to $168.89.
What the Journal reported
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Nvidia’s board is preparing to oust Huang and planned to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine his future. The paper said the decision follows two affairs. Reuters reported the Journal’s account and said it could not immediately verify the report. Reuters later reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that the board was meeting late Wednesday to decide.
One affair involved Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data company and a major Nvidia customer. U.S. intelligence officials believe she works for China’s intelligence services, according to the reports. Beijing has denied that she is a spy. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he spoke to Huang, who told him he had no idea Alice Huang was a spy.
The second affair, reported earlier on Wednesday by The New York Times, involved Kimberly Powell, a senior Nvidia executive who runs the company’s healthcare business and reports to Huang. The Times first reported the business connection between Huang and Alice Huang in October 2025, and later documented intelligence concerns about her.
What Nvidia has said so far
On Sunday, Huang wrote to staff acknowledging that he had been unfaithful to his wife and apologizing for violating his family’s and his employees’ trust. The same day, the board said a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, would examine reports that Huang had become the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The board said it had confidence in Huang and his leadership team, and a company spokesperson said Huang “continues uninterrupted as CEO.” Nvidia told CNBC that Huang is committed to continuing to lead the company without interruption.
The board has hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton to run the inquiry, according to reports. Nvidia has said it halted shipments to Megaspeed in the summer of 2025 and works with U.S. authorities to make sure its chips are not diverted to China at scale.
The Justice Department is leading multiple investigations into the matter, the Journal reported. Two Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, have asked the Trump administration to preserve all documents tied to Nvidia’s chip exports to China. In the House, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said he may subpoena Huang to brief lawmakers next week.
The market reaction
Nvidia shares have now fallen hard in two of the last three sessions. The stock fell 5.5 percent on Tuesday to $168.89, then gained 2.87 percent on Wednesday to close at $173.73 as strong CoreWeave results lifted chip stocks. After the Journal report, the shares dropped about 8.6 percent in after-hours trading to about $158.80.
Analyst firm Baird downgraded Nvidia to Neutral on Wednesday, according to market coverage, citing questions about government action, the investigations and Huang’s tenure. Bettors on the prediction market Polymarket put 77 percent odds on Huang leaving his job by resignation or removal by the end of the year, the Journal reported. Calls for Huang to step down have also come from some Republicans, including Senator Kevin Cramer and former National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow, the Journal reported.
What happens next
No decision had been announced as of early Thursday. The board’s statement from Sunday remains its latest public word on Huang’s leadership, and the company’s latest securities filing is dated November 6. Until the board issues a statement or a filing appears, the ouster remains a report, not a decision.
Two dates now matter. Nvidia reports third-quarter results on November 17, when Huang is expected to face questions from analysts. On November 18, three House committee chairs have asked Huang to give a closed-door briefing on the affair and on chip exports to China. What the board decides before then will shape both appearances.
For now, the company that dominates the market for AI processors is run by a chief executive whose own board is weighing his future. Investors, lawmakers and the Justice Department are all waiting on the same answer.