Nvidia shares fall over 8% in after-hours trade as board reportedly weighs Jensen Huang’s exit

Shares of Nvidia plunged more than 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday following reports that the chipmaker's board was considering removing co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang amid controversy surrounding his personal relationships.

Nvidia shares fell 8.6%, or $14.95, to $158.78 in extended trading, after closing Wednesday's regular session 2.92% higher at $173.73. At the closing price, the company had a market capitalisation of around $4.194 trillion.

Over the first two trading sessions of the week, Nvidia shares had plunged nearly 10%, including a 6.5% fall to $167.11 on Tuesday, extending Monday's 4.3% decline. The two-day sell-off wiped out more than $470 billion from the company's market value.

The decline also took a toll on Huang's personal fortune. His net worth fell by another $8.6 billion on Tuesday to an estimated $146.8 billion, pushing him down to the 12th position on the list of the world's richest people.

This followed an estimated $7.4 billion loss in his wealth on Monday. Huang owns approximately 3.6% of Nvidia, including shares held through family trusts, making his personal fortune closely tied to the company's stock performance.

Board meeting to consider Huang’s future

According to a Bloomberg report citing The Wall Street Journal, Nvidia's board was preparing to meet as early as Wednesday to discuss Huang's future at the company and consider his possible removal. The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, comes amid growing questions over the company's succession planning and corporate governance.

The latest development follows reports of two extramarital relationships involving Huang. Earlier on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that he had also been in a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, citing five people who had worked at the company.

The newspaper reported that Huang and Powell were seen behaving affectionately at a hotel in San Jose, California, during an Nvidia conference in March. The report added to the scrutiny surrounding the CEO, who had acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife earlier this week.

The controversy intensified on Sunday after Huang acknowledged an extramarital relationship with Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed International. US intelligence officials reportedly suspect her of having links to Chinese intelligence, according to media reports.

The episode has raised concerns about potential national security implications and the company's exposure to risks involving its business relationships.

The developments have also brought Nvidia's succession planning into focus. Huang, 63, co-founded the company in 1993 and has led its transformation into the world's dominant supplier of artificial intelligence chips. His leadership has been closely associated with Nvidia's growth during the AI boom, making the prospect of his departure a significant concern for investors.