Nvidia rebounds as Reuters flags blacklisted chip buyer

Nvidia ↗ 3.53% lost about $430 billion in market value over Monday and Tuesday after CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman US intelligence reportedly suspects of spying for China. Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 0.17% had reported that the two-day loss was on track to exceed $470 billion. On Tuesday, Microsoft ↘ 2.46% passed Nvidia to become the world's second-most valuable company for the first time since June 2025. Nvidia's lead over Microsoft had been $1.84 trillion five weeks earlier.uk.finance.yahoo.com+3

Probes multiply

Nvidia's board opened an independent investigation on Sunday, November 8. It said it had "no reason to believe" national security or company secrets were compromised. Its independent directors then hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, with former acting US Attorney Joon Kim leading the review. The New York Times ↗ 0.17% reported that the woman is Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. China called the claims a "smear".reuters.com+2

On Monday, President Trump said the FBI was looking into the matter. "I think that he'll be in good shape," he said. Shareholders filed a proposed class action in San Jose federal court. Senator Kevin Cramer called on Huang to resign. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast threatened a subpoena unless Huang agreed by Wednesday to a closed-door briefing on November 18.inquirer.com+2

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Northwestern Polytechnical University, a school with ties to the People's Liberation Army, bought two H200 chips last month even though it is on a US export blacklist. Procurement records show it paid 874,700 yuan and bought the chips through Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology, not directly from Nvidia.reuters.com

Rebound and doubts about an exit

Nvidia shares rose on Wednesday, their first gain since the scandal broke. Strong CoreWeave ↗ 24.28% results lifted chip stocks broadly. The bounce came despite a Baird downgrade to Neutral that partly cited uncertainty over Huang's tenure. Morgan Stanley ↗ 1.70% also dropped Nvidia from its top-picks list.uk.finance.yahoo.com+1

Betting markets doubt Huang will leave soon. Kalshi traders gave him a 17% chance of leaving by 2027. Polymarket traders put the odds of an exit by the end of March 2027 at roughly one in four. "Nvidia is not an ordinary company and Jensen is not an ordinary CEO," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. Wedbush's Dan Ives warned that Huang's departure would cut the company's value by 30%. "Jensen is not replaceable," he said.ndtv.com+2