Nvidia Stock Pares 14% Plunge After Huang Exit; Trump Backs Cook
Nvidia stock hit $148.80, down 14%, after Jensen Huang resigned, then cut losses to about 4%. Trump wants Tim Cook as CEO; here is who could really lead Nvidia.
Hakkı ALKANPublished 3 min read
Nvidia stock fell sharply on Thursday after the company announced that Jensen Huang resigned as president, CEO and board member effective immediately, but the shares later recovered from their worst intraday losses as investors reassessed the leadership transition.
At 8:48 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, Nvidia said CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while keeping her finance role, and former Synopsys CEO Harvey C. Jones was named the board's first-ever chair. The board is considering both internal and external candidates for a permanent CEO, according to CNN. Jones said the company expects operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap to continue without interruption.
Why did Nvidia stock fall so sharply?
Nvidia closed at $173.73 on Wednesday and opened on the Nasdaq at $151.00 on Thursday, down $22.73 or 13.08%, according to Seoul Economic Daily. Bloomberg reported that the stock dropped about 14% at the open, briefly erasing more than $600 billion in value and pushing Nvidia's market cap below $4 trillion for the first time since 2025. Yahoo Finance quote data showed an intraday low of $148.80, about 14.3% below the prior close.
By 8:08 a.m. PT, about 90 minutes into the session, Yahoo Finance quote data showed the stock had recovered to $166.44, or about 4.2% lower on the day. CNN also reported that shares had fallen more than 10% in premarket trading before the opening bell.
Our take: The rebound matters because the market is quickly shifting from shock to execution risk. The initial drop reflected the size of Huang's departure and the uncertainty around continuity, but the partial recovery suggests investors are focusing on whether Nvidia can preserve customer confidence, product timing and management stability rather than only the headline of the open.
What did Trump post on Truth Social?
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday, saying "there is only one man to take his place" and "A Legend replaces a Legend!" in reference to Tim Cook. Cook is Apple's former CEO and now its executive chairman, according to 9to5Mac, but neither Apple nor Nvidia has commented on the post and there is no indication Cook is in talks to replace Huang.
Earlier this week, Trump had called Huang an "honorable guy," CNN reported.
Who could lead Nvidia next?
Bloomberg's list of possible successors, as summarized by 9to5Mac, put Kress at the top for at least an interim role and also named Apple chief hardware officer Johny Srouji among possible candidates. 9to5Mac described a Srouji move as unlikely. For now, the only confirmed leadership change is Kress's interim appointment and Jones's new role as chair.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led the company for 33 years. The leadership change comes after a turbulent few days in which Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair on Nov. 8, the board opened an independent investigation into whether he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, and The New York Times reported on Nov. 11 about a second affair with an Nvidia executive who reports to him. For the full timeline, see our coverage of the board investigation and of Jensen Huang's resignation.
What should investors watch next?
- Whether Nvidia names a permanent CEO from inside or outside the company
- Whether customer and product roadmap guidance changes after the transition
- How the stock trades after the initial volatility fades
- Whether the board provides more detail on the transition timeline
Snapshot: Nvidia closed at $173.73 on Wednesday, opened at $151.00 on Thursday, hit an intraday low of $148.80, and recovered to $166.44 by 8:08 a.m. PT, according to the market data cited above. This article is news coverage, not investment advice.