Jensen Huang resigns: Nvidia shares fall 13% as Kress agrees to serve as interim CEO

Nvidia said on 12 November 2026 that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and a board member, effective immediately. Finance chief Colette Kress agreed to serve as interim CEO. Shares fell as much as 14.3% during the day before closing at $166.19, down 4.34% from the previous close. The board said it is initiating a search for a permanent successor and will consider internal and external candidates.

Key takeaways

• Nvidia said Jensen Huang resigned as president, CEO and board member on 12 November 2026.
• Finance chief Colette Kress is interim CEO and keeps her finance chief role for now.
• Nvidia's next quarterly results are scheduled for 17 November 2026.

What Nvidia actually said on 12 November

The company's release is short and precise. Nvidia said Huang "has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately." Kress, then executive vice president and chief financial officer, "has agreed to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer." She will stay executive vice president and finance chief until a permanent successor is named. Nvidia also appointed Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair.

The release gives no reason for the resignation. Jones said in it that the company's "operations, customer commitments and product roadmap" are expected "to continue without interruption."

Context matters here. On 8 November 2026, Nvidia's board announced an independent investigation into reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, and said it had no reason to believe national security or Nvidia secrets had been compromised. On 10 November, the independent directors retained former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to run it. We covered that in detail in our piece on the board's independent review. On 28 October 2026, Reuters reported that the US Department of Justice was asking about Nvidia's planned $12.93 billion purchase of Hugging Face over competition concerns, with no final decision.

Confirmed, reported, and not confirmed

Keeping these three apart is the whole job this week.

Lawmakers are also involved. As of 13 November 2026, three House committee chairmen had requested a closed-door, transcribed interview with Huang on 1 December. They also requested an interview with Nvidia general counsel Tim Teter on 2 December. Written confirmation was due at 8 p.m. EST on 13 November. The chairmen warned that non-cooperation could lead to subpoenas. Separately, on 11 November, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons asked administration officials to preserve records about Nvidia chip exports and related national-security risks. Written confirmation was due 17 November 2026.

Who runs Nvidia now

Colette Kress is interim CEO. She is also still executive vice president and chief financial officer, and the release says she keeps both until a permanent successor is named. Nvidia stated no separate effective date for her interim appointment.

An interim CEO is a stand-in. The board hands the job to someone trusted to keep the company running while it decides who leads next. It signals continuity on the day-to-day. It says nothing about who ends up with the role permanently. The board can later appoint the interim leader, or someone else entirely.

Giving the job to the finance chief has a practical logic: the numbers, the customer commitments and the reporting calendar stay in the same hands. Nvidia confirmed the results date was unchanged.

How a board picks a permanent CEO

At a company whose shares trade on an exchange, the board appoints the chief executive, not the shareholders. Nvidia said its board is initiating a search and will consider internal and external candidates.

Both routes are normal. An internal hire usually points to continuity on strategy and product. An external hire usually means the board wants a different direction or a fresh pair of eyes. Nvidia has not said which way it leans.

There is no published timetable, no shortlist and no named search adviser. Nvidia announced this transition in a company release filed with the US securities regulator.

Why the shares moved, and what $600 billion really means

The share price swung hard. Nvidia traded as low as $148.80 and as high as $167.14 on 12 November, and closed at $166.19, down 4.34% on the day, on volume of about 746.5 million shares. So the "more than 13%" number everyone quoted describes the intraday drop, not the closing decline. That distinction is worth holding onto when you read headlines this week.

The leadership change, the open board investigation and the congressional requests were developments that week.

The $600 billion figure for November needs the same care. It referred to a cumulative period around the week of the board investigation, not a single trading day.

One point that gets lost in big round numbers: market value is the share price multiplied by the shares outstanding. When it falls, no cash leaves the company. Investors simply put a lower price on the same business.

Reuters reported that Huang owned about 3.61% of Nvidia. His latest personal Form 4, filed on 18 September 2026 for transactions on 16 September, reports 811,521,160 shares across its disclosed direct, trust and LLC holdings. The earlier proxy reported 870,604,104 shares, or 3.58%, as of 23 March, including foundation shares in which he and his wife had no financial interest.

What comes next

The next hard data point is close. Nvidia has scheduled its fiscal third-quarter 2027 results for approximately 1:20 p.m. PT on 17 November 2026, with an earnings call at 2 p.m. PT. That will be the first look at the business under interim leadership.

For reference, the last reported quarter was the second quarter of fiscal 2027, ended 26 July 2026: revenue of $96.2 billion and GAAP net income of $59.7 billion. Revenue was $68.1 billion in the quarter ended 25 January 2026 and $81.6 billion in the quarter ended 26 April 2026. Nvidia's latest announced quarterly dividend, declared on 26 August 2026, was $0.25 per share, paid on 1 October 2026 to shareholders of record on 10 September.

After that, the things to follow are the board's updates on the search, the independent investigation and the congressional interview dates in early December.

Risks

• The board's independent investigation was not reported as concluded by 13 November 2026, so its findings are still unknown.
• Nvidia gave no reason for the resignation, and the reported subordinate relationship was not confirmed by the company.
• There is no published timetable or shortlist for the permanent CEO.
• Congressional requests are open, including a warning that non-cooperation could lead to subpoenas.
• Nvidia's intraday price on 12 November ranged from $148.80 to $167.14.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions

Did Jensen Huang really resign as Nvidia CEO?

Yes. Nvidia's release filed with the US securities regulator on 12 November 2026 says he resigned as president, chief executive officer and a board member, effective immediately. The release does not explain why.

Is Colette Kress now the permanent CEO?

No. Nvidia says she agreed to serve as interim chief executive officer and will continue as executive vice president and chief financial officer until a permanent successor is named. The board is initiating a search and has published no shortlist.

Who chose the interim CEO?

The board. At a listed company, directors appoint the chief executive. Nvidia's board announced the transition and at the same time named Harvey C. Jones as its first board chair.

Did Nvidia say the business would keep running normally?

Board chair Harvey Jones said operations, customer commitments and the product roadmap are expected to continue without interruption. That is a company statement about expectations, not a guarantee. Nvidia has scheduled results for 17 November.

Sources

• NVIDIA Investor Relations: Statement from NVIDIA Board of Directors (8 November 2026)
• Reuters: DOJ is inquiring about Nvidia's purchase of Hugging Face, sources say (28 October 2026)
• Nasdaq: NVIDIA Corporation Common Stock (NVDA)
• NVIDIA Investor Relations: NVIDIA Announces Financial Results for Second Quarter Fiscal 2027 (26 August 2026)
• NVIDIA, filed with the SEC: NVIDIA Announces CEO Transition (12 November 2026)
• Reuters: Retail buyers limit Nvidia stock rout (12 November 2026)
• U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Letter to Jensen Huang (12 November 2026)

Cover photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash.