NVIDIA Names CFO Kress Interim CEO to Steady Ship; Market Cap Falls Below $4 Trillion

NVIDIA Names CFO Colette Kress Interim CEO
Led Finance for 13 Years... Drove Growth Alongside CEO Huang
NVIDIA Shares Open Down 13%

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who led the company for 33 years, abruptly resigned on Thursday, November 12, local time, sending the company's shares sharply lower. Major Wall Street investment banks voiced concern over uncertainty stemming from the leadership vacuum and successively cut their price targets. NVIDIA appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress, who has overseen the company's finances for 13 years, as interim CEO and moved to stabilize its management.

Colette Kress, interim Nvidia CEO. Nvidia

Kress, Huang's Right-Hand Woman, Takes on Key Role in Resolving NVIDIA Crisis

NVIDIA said in a statement that Huang was resigning immediately as CEO and a board director. The company also appointed CFO Kress as interim CEO and named Harvey C. Jones, a former Synopsys executive, as board chair. Kress will continue to serve as CFO until a permanent successor is appointed.

Kress, NVIDIA's interim CEO, joined the company in September 2013 and is a veteran executive who has led its finance division for 13 years. She majored in finance at the University of Arizona and earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Before joining NVIDIA, she held key finance positions at global technology companies including Cisco and Microsoft.

When Kress joined NVIDIA in 2013, the company was beginning its transformation from a manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming into a key player in the AI industry. During this process, she worked closely with Huang and oversaw investment, funding and financial strategy.

Kress has also played a key role in communicating with Wall Street investors. NVIDIA's annual revenue surged to $215.9 billion from $4.28 billion in 2013, the year she joined the company.

She has also actively voiced her views on U.S. government restrictions on semiconductor exports to China. In 2023, Kress told financial analysts that China accounted for 20-25% of NVIDIA's data center revenue. She warned that export restrictions could not only reduce revenue but also accelerate the growth of Chinese competitors.

This experience is expected to be an important asset as NVIDIA responds to policy uncertainty ahead. An affair scandal involving Huang has escalated into a national security issue, reigniting efforts in the U.S. Congress to tighten export controls on advanced semiconductors to China.

NVIDIA Shares Open Down 13%; Market Cap Falls Below $4 Trillion

NVIDIA shares opened trading on the New York Stock Exchange that day down about 13% from the previous session. As of 11:58 a.m. Eastern time, the shares were down 4.87% at $165.27. The company's market capitalization had fallen to about $3.9858 trillion.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), NVIDIA's market capitalization fell by about $500 billion at the opening bell, equivalent to about 667 trillion won, marking the second-largest one-day decline on record. Compared with the peak recorded on October 6, its market capitalization had shed about $2.13 trillion, or about 2,842 trillion won.

Wall Street analysts expect Huang's departure to weigh significantly on the stock, given how heavily NVIDIA's valuation has depended on his personal vision and leadership.

Citigroup cut its price target for NVIDIA to $225 from $285. "Given the central role Huang has played in strategy, product vision, customer relationships and investor confidence, a leadership change could weigh on the stock," the bank said.

Bernstein halved its price target to $200 from $400 and downgraded its rating from "Outperform" to "Market Perform."

Oppenheimer withdrew its price target altogether, citing management uncertainty. It said Huang would be difficult to replace and that no suitable successor was in sight. It also raised the possibility of a so-called "brain drain," in which key talent could leave the company to follow Huang.

William Blair also identified the management vacuum and the possibility of increased U.S. government oversight as risk factors. It also cited mounting competitive pressure from rivals in the AI semiconductor market.

Others, however, say the management change is unlikely to undermine the company's fundamental growth prospects, given that demand for NVIDIA's semiconductors and its technological competitiveness remain intact.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.