Morning Highlights: Nvidia Seeks a Replacement for Huang, Competitors' Stocks Rise, CoreWeave Deal

Nvidia's board of directors has hired an outside firm to search for a potential replacement for CEO Jensen Huang amid reports of his extramarital affairs, including one with a woman whom U.S. authorities suspect of spying for China. Nvidia’s stock fell 9% in after-hours trading, while shares of competitors AMD and Broadcom rose more than 3%, and Alphabet gained 0.3%. CoreWeave has decided to raise at least $4 billion through a new loan. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of November 12.

On Wednesday, November 11, to discuss the future of CEO Jensen Huang following reports of his extramarital affairs with a subordinate and a woman whom U.S. intelligence agencies believe to be a Chinese spy, The New York Times reports, citing sources.

Huang's possible departure could create uncertainty for Nvidia, which controls about 90% of the market for chips used in large-scale AI projects, the newspaper notes. The 63-year-old entrepreneur oversees all of the company’s business divisions and owns 3.56% of its shares, remaining its largest individual shareholder.

Nvidia's board of directors has enlisted an outside firm to search for a potential replacement for CEO Jensen Huang, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The company is considering appointing an interim leader while the search for a permanent successor is underway.

The trigger was reports of Huang’s extramarital affairs, including with Megaspeed International CEO Alice Huang—whom U.S. authorities suspect of spying for China—and Nvidia Vice President Kimberly Powell. A potential resignation is complicated by the lack of an obvious successor: Huang has led Nvidia since its founding, the agency explains.

AMD and Broadcom shares rose more than 3% in after-hours trading, while Alphabet gained 0.3%; Nvidia shares, however, fell 9% following reports that CEO Jensen Huang is preparing to step down, according to Bloomberg. Investors expect that the leadership crisis at Nvidia will allow competitors to increase their share of the AI chip market. AMD, Broadcom, and Alphabet—which is developing its own TPU processors—could benefit the most.

The rally also extended to Asian companies: shares of Taiwan’s MediaTek rose as much as 3.3%, while Alchip and Global Unichip gained more than 8%. In China, Cambricon shares rose 13%, while Hygon and SMIC shares rose more than 5%. Analysts also suggest that the leadership change at Nvidia could strengthen Samsung’s position if the company reevaluates its relationships with suppliers.

CoreWeave, an American provider of AI computing power, plans to raise at least $4 billion through an investment-grade bond offering, according to Bloomberg sources. Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group are arranging the financing. The deal could hit the market as early as next week. The expected yield on the loan is 7–7.5%—roughly half the yield on the company’s high-risk bonds, the agency notes.

CoreWeave had previously raised its revenue forecast for 2026 to $13–13.3 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $12.9 billion. In March, CoreWeave had already raised $8.5 billion through an investment-grade credit facility secured by contracts with Meta.

The European Union and the United Kingdom are preparing to postpone the introduction of 10 percent tariffs on electric vehicles, which are set to take effect on January 1, 2027, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. The European Commission is discussing a possible one- to two-year delay with automakers. According to estimates by the industry association ACEA, if the rules remain unchanged, the duties will affect about 82% of the 520,000 electric cars and vans scheduled to be sold in 2027, with a total value of €17.9 billion.

The tariffs are provided for in the Brexit agreement and are intended to stimulate battery production in Europe; however, the industry is developing more slowly than expected and remains dependent on Asian suppliers. Automakers fear increased competition from China. ACEA is proposing to postpone the tightening of requirements for battery assembly until 2030 and for cathode material production until 2032. Negotiations between the EU and the UK on a delay could begin after the summit on November 20.

— Japan's broad-based Topix index was virtually unchanged, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%.

— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1%, and mainland China's CSI 300 Index also fell 1%.

— In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 1.3%, and the KOSDAQ index fell 2.5%.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained virtually unchanged.

— Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.1%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.5%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were virtually unchanged.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor