Nvidia shares fell for a second straight day after Jensen Huang resigned as CEO amid reports of a series of extramarital affairs and national security probes.
Its stock fell almost 3 percent Friday, extending a decline of more than 4 percent in the previous session.
It has fallen more than 20 percent since Oct. 29, when The New York Times reported that Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
Nvidia’s slide continued to weigh on the broader market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.9 percent, and the S&P 500 slid 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded roughly flat.
HSBC downgraded the graphic card maker to hold from buy on Friday, saying that the uncertainties will persist until the company lays out a permanent succession plan.
Nvidia’s Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been named to lead the company on an interim basis. She joined Nvidia in September 2013 and spent nearly 25 years before that in finance roles at other technology companies, including Cisco and Microsoft.
“Nvidia’s strength has always come from its people, and together with our leadership team, I am committed to building on the extraordinary foundation Jensen created over the last 33 years,” Kress said in a statement.
The company’s board of directors is searching both internally and externally for a full-time replacement for Jensen Huang.
Jensen Huang’s resignation followed his Nov. 8 admission of an extramarital affair. The woman at the center of the controversy was identified as Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company. Megaspeed has been accused of helping Chinese companies circumvent export controls to acquire Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
Citing unnamed sources, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials identified Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang, as an agent of Beijing, raising questions about whether the Chinese regime sought to exploit the relationship to gain access to Nvidia’s technology and influence its business dealings with China.
After Jensen Huang’s admission, Nvidia’s board has hired an outside independent counsel to investigate his conduct. The board said it had no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised.
The scandal deepened this week after another report by The New York Times alleged that Jensen Huang also had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at Nvidia.
Outside of the company, Jensen Huang faces two high-profile oversight events.
On Nov. 12, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) asked Jensen Huang to testify at a Dec. 3 hearing.
The hearing will address recent public reports that raise “significant national security concerns,” said Scott, who has also asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify on the matter on Dec. 10.
Separately, on Nov. 4, the chairs of three House committees asked Jensen Huang for a closed-door briefing on how Nvidia protects its secrets and his interactions with Alice Huang.
The chairs are Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) of Foreign Affairs, John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Their letter cited “significant national security concerns” about China’s access to sensitive U.S. technology and information.
In a follow-up letter on Nov. 12, the three lawmakers asked Jensen Huang to appear for the briefing on Dec. 1 or face a subpoena.
