Nvidia’s $4 Trillion Test After Jensen Huang’s Exit

By Daniel Okafor

Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, after co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang resigned, ending his 33-year run at a company he helped build into a nearly $4 trillion AI-chip giant. The stock recovered from its steepest loss but traded 4.7% lower at 1:30 p.m. EST, according to AP.

Nvidia appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO on Thursday. Kress has held the CFO role since 2013. Her appointment followed Huang’s public admission that he had been unfaithful to his wife.

Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into Huang and the possibility that he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The inquiry followed New York Times reporting about his close relationship with a businesswoman whom U.S. intelligence identified as a Chinese spy. The Times also reported that Huang had another affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Why did Huang’s 3.58% stake fail to protect him?

Fortune described Huang as a billionaire who guided Nvidia from a small video-game graphics-chip player to a central role in the AI revolution. He understood the limits of founder authority.

In a January podcast interview with Jodi Shelton, Huang said: “In a well-governed company, the CEO was always designed to report to the board of directors and the board of directors report to shareholders.”

He added: “If the CEO doesn’t do his job according to 12, 13, 15 board members, however sized the board is, that CEO is let go.”

Nvidia’s one-share-one-vote system gave Huang no special founder rights. His votes equaled his shares, so he lacked the power to elect or remove directors independently.

Fortune’s review of Nvidia’s 2026 proxy statement found that Huang held about 870.6 million shares, or 3.58%, as of March. That made him the largest individual shareholder but not a voting controller. His stake was far larger than those of other executives and directors; Kress held 4.4 million shares. Vanguard and BlackRock each owned more than 7%.

Nvidia’s bylaws allow the board to remove the CEO for any reason at any time. The same rules left Huang dependent on other shareholders for board control, unlike founders with majority voting power.

How do founder-controlled companies differ?

Fortune’s comparison with other founder-led technology companies showed the contrast:

• Meta: CEO and cofounder Mark Zuckerberg owns 13.4% but controls about 60% of voting power. His Class B shares carry 10 votes each versus one for Class A, letting him effectively elect the entire board and decide most shareholder matters. Meta said last month it would add a third, non-voting tier next year.
• Snap: CEO and cofounder Evan Spiegel owns about 9.3% of the company but controls 53% of its voting power.
• Alphabet: Google parent company Alphabet’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page no longer run day-to-day operations, but they retain collective majority voting control. Both remain directors.

Nvidia had no founder with majority voting control. When Huang resigned, the stock fell as much as 14% before rebounding, AP reported. It remained 4.7% lower at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Fortune calculated that the nearly $4 trillion company represented about 6% of the S&P 500 and about 10% of the Nasdaq 100. Fortune said any corporate reckoning would spread through the broader market and everyday Americans’ 401(k) accounts.

Who takes control of Nvidia now?

Colette Kress said in a Thursday statement that she planned to build on Huang’s legacy as interim CEO. She has served as Nvidia’s CFO since 2013.

Nvidia’s board also changed its own structure. It had operated without a chairman and used lead independent director Stephen Neal to oversee management. On Thursday, it appointed Harvey C. Jones as chairman.

Jones is a former semiconductor company CEO and has served on Nvidia’s board since 1993. Nvidia made Kress interim CEO during its investigation of Huang and the possibility of a foreign intelligence operation, leaving the permanent succession open.

In the January podcast, Huang said: “There will never be one like me, and the reason for that is because I was raised by the company.”

Huang also said he did not love his job every day but always tried his “mightiest” for two reasons. “One, I’m the best person for the job. I believe that,” he said. “And, two, I have to earn being the best person for that job every day.”

Huang shaped Nvidia’s flat management structure and remained directly involved in product strategy, supplier relationships and customer relationships, Fortune said. In recent months, he cultivated a close relationship with President Donald Trump.

Trump has advocated expanding the AI industry and the infrastructure backing it in the U.S. The Hill reported that he quickly backed former Apple CEO Tim Cook as Huang’s successor on Thursday.

The immediate test is whether Kress and Jones can preserve that operating model while the board governs without its most visible founder. With Nvidia worth nearly $4 trillion, any faltering would reach the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Americans’ 401(k) accounts. Future results and board decisions will show whether the company can turn Huang’s operating legacy into a durable structure without his personal authority.