NVDA Shares Fall Premarket: CEO Jensen Huang Announces Taiwan Headquarters, Calls The Country 'Epicenter' Of AI

• CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia will invest up to $150 billion annually in Taiwan.
• Construction for Nvidia Taiwan’s headquarters will start next year.
• Stocktwits sentiment for NVDA dropped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish.’

Nvidia shares have curiously underperformed peer stocks recently. The company’s blowout report last week did little to lift the stock, nor did its fresh $80 billion buyback authorization or a dividend raise. In fact, CEO Jensen Huang went so far as to say that the stock move remains a “mystery” for him.

On Wednesday, the executive turned to Taiwan. Speaking from Taipei, Huang announced that the chip designer would open a headquarters in the country, hailing it as the “epicenter” of artificial intelligence, according to Reuters.

"Four years ago, five years ago, Nvidia was spending about 10, 15 billion dollars a year in Taiwan. Now we're spending 100, going to 150 billion dollars in Taiwan each year," Huang reportedly said at an event ​in Taipei to mark the launch of the Taiwan headquarters development.

Nvidia shares dropped 0.4% in early premarket on Wednesday.

NVDA’s Taiwan Play

The Taiwan headquarters will bring Nvidia closer to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes nearly all of the company’s advanced chips. It is also expected to boost Nvidia’s alliances with other manufacturing partners, including Foxconn and Wistron.

"Taiwan is the epicentre of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, ​packaging comes, this is where the systems are made, this is where AI supercomputers were created. The number of partners we work with here in ‌Taiwan, incredible,” he said. Nvidia plans to employ 4,000 people at the new site, he said.

Last week, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su visited Taiwan and announced a $10 billion investment in the country to ramp up manufacturing and partnerships. Su said at the time that chip demand was higher than the company had previously forecast, indicating a need for additional manufacturing capacity.

Retail View On NVDA

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for NVDA dropped to ‘bullish’ on Wednesday from ‘extremely bullish’ the previous day. “NVDA the longer it sleeps and others rise, the more higher it will go when it finally awakens. Hold those shares,” a trader said.

Last week, Nvidia reported blowout quarterly results, announced an $80 billion share buyback, and raised its dividend — moves that signaled strong financial health and underscored robust demand for AI chips.

Year to date, NVDA shares have added 15.2%, compared to the 89% gains in the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and 10% gains in the benchmark S&P 500 Index (SPX).

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