Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Resigns As CEO With CFO Colette Kress To Step In: Analyst Compares To Apple’s ‘Steve Jobs Moment’

• CFO Colette Kress will serve as interim CEO while keeping her CFO role
• The board has started a search for a permanent CEO.
• Harvey C. Jones, a former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys, was named the board’s first-ever chair.

Nvidia (NVDA) announced on Thursday that Jensen Huang has resigned as chief executive, president and member of the board, effective immediately.

The company said chief financial officer (CFO) Colette Kress would step in as interim chief executive officer (CEO), while continuing in her previous role, until a permanent successor is named. Nvidia added that its board plans to consider internal and external candidates for the post.

Read Next

Ondas CEO Sees Q4 Momentum Accelerating – Firm Now Expects Adjusted EBITDA Break-Even A Quarter Earlier In 2027

Arnab Paul

“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,” said Kress. “We will continue advancing the work that has made NVIDIA a leader in accelerated computing and AI, and execute on the opportunities ahead. Our focus remains on serving our customers, partners, developers and shareholders.” 

Harvey C. Jones, a former CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys, was named the board’s first-ever chair.

NVDA stock was down as much as 13% in morning trade, hitting an over-one-year low and on track to log its biggest single-day drop since January 2025, when it fell over 16%. Its market capitalization fell below Microsoft's (MSFT) valuation.

Analysts React To Nvidia CEO Exit

Huang’s exit comes after The New York Times reported on Wednesday that he had a second extramarital relationship with an executive, and The Wall Street Journal reported that the board was preparing to oust him. 

On CNBC, Wolfe Research’s Chris Caso said Huang’s exit was not a surprise. “This is not how you want it to end. But as you said, it’s not a surprise this morning at this point,” he said.

“You know it’s sort of like the Apple Steve Jobs moment,” Caso added. “There’s going to be somebody new that’s not Jensen, but you know, it’s not necessarily over.”

He said the industry is short of supply, and he pointed to Nvidia’s backlog as a cushion. “Nvidia sold out through the end of next year. The roadmap is set,” Caso stated. He said the key question is who replaces Huang, and that Kress is a good interim choice.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said the exit “had to happen.” He said Kress knows the business and has long been the company’s public voice. “I think she’s going to be terrific at trying to figure out where the pieces are,” Cramer said. “She’ll provide some needed order.”

Colette Kress Takes Over As Interim CEO

The company said Kress will retain her role as executive vice president and CFO while serving as interim CEO. She joined Nvidia in September 2013. 

Before that, Kress spent nearly 25 years in finance roles at technology companies, including Cisco (CSCO) and Microsoft (MSFT). Nvidia said she has led the finance team and played a key role in the company’s growth.

Harvey Jones Named Nvidia’s First-Ever Board Chair

The board named Harvey C. Jones its first-ever chair. Jones has been an entrepreneur, technology executive and venture investor for more than 30 years. He was previously CEO and executive chairman of Synopsys.

“Colette has helped lead NVIDIA through a period of extraordinary growth and has a deep understanding of our business, customers, operations and financial position,” Jones said. 

He added that the board has “full confidence” in her and the leadership team. “We expect the company’s operations, customer commitments and product roadmap to continue without interruption,” Jones stated.

Chip Stocks Fall, While AMD, Broadcom Rise

Nvidia confirmed that it will still report its fiscal third-quarter 2027 results on Tuesday next week, after market close. Wall Street is expecting the company to report earnings of $2.47 per share on revenue of $109 billion.

Huang's exit hit other chip and AI stocks in morning trade. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) dropped over 5% and Alibaba (BABA) fell almost 6% on concerns over export controls. iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down nearly 3%. 

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) bucked the broader trend and rose, as investors bet that Nvidia’s turmoil could push more business to its rivals. AMD stock was up 1.3%, while AVGO stock gained over 4%.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AVGO rose to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ over the past day, while sentiment around AMD remained in the ‘bullish’ zone. Both saw chatter at ‘high’ levels.

How Did Retail React To Huang’s Exit?

Nvidia was the top trending ticker on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around NVDA stock trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘extremely high’ levels.

Some retail traders on the platform shared concerns over Nvidia not having a clear succession plan in place, while others worried if the stock’s reaction could lead to a “major AI correction.”

A number of analysts cut their price targets on the stock ahead of Huang’s exit, with many expecting the “leadership overhang” to weigh on the shares for a while. According to Dan Ives, NVDA stock would be worth $225 without Huang at the helm.

Read also: Bitcoin Falls Below $73K For First Time Since August: Michael Van De Poppe Wants One More Flush Before Buying The Dip

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.