NVIDIA's Huang resigns as CEO without giving a reason, five days before earnings

[Update, Nov. 13, 2026, 4:37] We had said it was not yet decided who would appear before Congress. This has been corrected: Huang has agreed to testify. The closed-door briefing set for Nov. 18 is expected to be replaced by a different format, and because Huang has agreed to testify, we revised how we describe what to watch. The 8-K states that the resignation was effective immediately as of Nov. 11, so we removed a statement saying we had not confirmed when it took effect. NVIDIA has announced it will report earnings as scheduled on Nov. 17, so we revised a statement saying we had not confirmed the earnings date. The stock reportedly fell as much as about 14% during trading on Nov. 12 before recovering to a loss of around 4.6%, so we removed a statement saying we had not confirmed how the stock moved.

Chipmaker NVIDIA has told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that founder Jensen Huang has resigned as CEO and as a director. The notice came in an 8-K, the current report companies file when a major event occurs, and is dated Nov. 11. The 8-K reports the resignation, but it does not say why he resigned. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will also serve as interim CEO. The company at the center of the AI boom has lost its top executive five days before its earnings report and one week before Anthropic's IPO.

For Japanese companies: Most companies will see no immediate effect on daily operations. Two groups are affected. At chip equipment and component makers that sell heavily to NVIDIA, corporate planning and IR teams should check with their sales staff before the Nov. 17 earnings report on whether their contacts at NVIDIA or order forecasts might change. Treasury staff who hold NVIDIA shares or U.S. semiconductor funds with company money should mark the Nov. 17 earnings report and Anthropic's Nov. 19 IPO as days when prices could swing sharply.

What the 8-K says, and what it doesn't

The 8-K confirms three things. Huang has resigned as CEO. He has also stepped down from the board. CFO Kress will also serve as interim CEO. NVIDIA announced the same news on its newsroom as a CEO transition.

What the filing leaves out is the reason for the resignation. When an officer leaves a U.S. company, the 8-K often says whether the departure followed a disagreement with the company. Huang has led NVIDIA since he founded it in 1993. The biggest gap in this story is that the filing announcing his departure gives no reason.

News reports have offered a reason first. NBC News ran a headline tying the resignation to reports of extramarital relationships involving Huang. That comes from media reports. NVIDIA has not acknowledged it in its filing.

The finance chief now also runs the company

Rather than bringing in an outsider, NVIDIA chose its CFO as interim CEO. For now, the person who prepares the financial results will also run the company.

But one person holding both roles is not how companies usually divide the jobs. The CFO is supposed to check that the numbers are accurate. Now the same person also heads the management team that produces those numbers. How long she will hold both roles, and how the next CEO will be chosen, will be the major questions until a permanent successor is named.

Why the timing is bad: earnings and Anthropic's IPO

The first issue is earnings. NVIDIA reports on Nov. 17, just five days away. Investors will look at revenue, but they will also watch who speaks on the earnings call and what they say. Huang, who has been the face of those calls, will not be there.

The second issue is an AI company's stock listing. Anthropic is scheduled to price its shares on Nov. 18 and begin trading on Nov. 19. Investors in AI stocks face two big decisions in the same week: the earnings of the largest AI chipmaker and the IPO of an AI developer. One of those two companies has lost its leader, and no one has said why.

CNBC has been running live updates on the story since Nov. 12. StockTitan also covered it in its Nov. 11 market report.

Open questions from before the resignation

Even before the resignation, Huang and NVIDIA faced several open questions. All of them had already come up in earlier news reports.

• The board was reportedly running an investigation with the law firm Wachtell Lipton. We have not confirmed whether the 8-K mentions any link between that investigation and the resignation.

• The U.S. House had asked for a closed-door briefing on Nov. 18. After resigning, Huang agreed to testify before Congress. The date and format have not been set.

• The U.S. Commerce Department has not decided whether to add Megaspeed, a company named in connection with the flow of NVIDIA chips, to the Entity List, which restricts export transactions. Axios reported that Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnick clashed over the matter. The Commerce Department denied the report.

• Brokerage Baird reportedly downgraded NVIDIA, but we have not been able to confirm this from a primary source.

Because the 8-K gives no reason, the filing does not show whether any of these issues are connected to the resignation.

What we could not confirm

For this article, we were not able to read the full text of the 8-K, NVIDIA's announcement or the news reports. Our account is based on headlines and information gathered beforehand. As a result, we have not confirmed the following: the terms of his departure (severance and the treatment of his shares); any comments from Kress or the board; whether the company has reaffirmed its outlook; and the sourcing of NBC's report (whether it relied on named or anonymous sources).

Dates to watch

At the Nov. 17 earnings report, watch who presents and how much they say about why Huang resigned. Also watch when and in what format the congressional testimony Huang agreed to will take place. On Nov. 18, the same day, Anthropic will price its shares, and it will begin trading on Nov. 19. The next things to watch are whether NVIDIA gives a reason for the resignation in a future filing and how it chooses the next CEO.