Jensen Huang forced to forfeit $108 million in equity awards

According to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the matter, Jensen Huang, who has stepped down as CEO of NVIDIA (NVDA.O), also had an intimate relationship with another employee. The identity of the employee involved remains undisclosed. Earlier, extramarital affairs between Huang and two women were successively exposed. NVIDIA, Jensen Huang, and board representatives have not responded to requests for comment.

According to data from the BIT Stock Platform, NVIDIA (NVDA.O)’s share price has plunged recently, with its forward price-to-earnings ratio falling to around 12 times, the lowest level since 2012. After Jensen Huang’s resignation, NVIDIA’s stock dropped more than 4% on Thursday, down roughly 11% for the week, and over 30% from its all-time high set on October 6. Beyond the management shake-up, the market also worries that AI data center construction may slow. Colette Kress, NVIDIA’s chief financial officer, is currently interim CEO, and the company is searching for a permanent successor. Analysts still hold expectations of strong profit growth for NVIDIA, projecting chip demand will continue to outpace supply. The market forecasts NVIDIA’s October-quarter revenue will rise 92% year-on-year, with net profit exceeding $60 billion, up 89% year-on-year. NVIDIA is scheduled to release its earnings report next Tuesday, and investors will closely watch Kress’s comments on the company’s future performance outlook—her guidance is likely to draw more attention than the earnings release itself.

Benefiting from AI-driven semiconductor demand, Applied Materials (AMAT.O) delivered strong growth in both profit and revenue for its fourth fiscal quarter. The company reported a net profit of $2.72 billion, or $3.40 per share, compared with $1.9 billion, or $2.38 per share, in the same period last year. Excluding certain one-time items, adjusted earnings per share reached $4.16, surpassing analysts’ prior consensus estimate of $4.06. Revenue jumped 53% to $10.41 billion, exceeding analysts’ forecast of $10.3 billion. Gary Dickerson, CEO of Applied Materials, noted that the company’s semiconductor systems business is expected to grow by more than 40% this year. In the latest quarter, this segment’s sales soared 64% to nearly $8 billion. For the first quarter of the new fiscal year, Applied Materials projects revenue of $11.1 billion, with a fluctuation range of plus or minus $500 million; it forecasts adjusted earnings per share of $4.35, with a fluctuation range of plus or minus 20 cents.

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter have disclosed that subscription orders for Anthropic PBC’s initial public offering (IPO) are roughly 6 times the number of shares available for issuance. As market interest in what could become the largest IPO in history grows, investor demand for shares has continued to climb. Documents show that Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI model, and its co-founders plan to raise up to $64.4 billion via the IPO, plus an additional $26 billion through private placements. The combined size of the two financing components will exceed SpaceX’s IPO, making it the largest public offering in history.

According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, merger negotiations between SpaceX (SPCX.O) and Tesla (TSLA.O) are progressing, with both companies’ boards and advisors discussing transaction terms, post-merger governance structures and other key issues. The two firms could announce a merger as early as December, but have also considered delaying the announcement to early 2027. If completed, the deal would rank among the largest in history, integrating electric vehicle, energy storage battery, rocket and satellite operations. Multiple hurdles still stand in the way of the negotiations, including how to separate some of Tesla’s overseas businesses and national security concerns tied to SpaceX’s U.S. Department of Defense contracts. Both companies’ boards have previously formed special independent director committees to review the merger.

According to a report by The Information, Colette Kress, interim CEO and CFO of NVIDIA (NVDA.O), has repeatedly raised objections to the high-risk transactions pushed by Jensen Huang. People familiar with the matter said Kress may adopt a more prudent business strategy than Huang. She previously opposed NVIDIA’s plan to provide up to $250 billion in credit support to OpenAI; the deal was eventually split, and NVIDIA has now only committed around $100 billion in credit support. With delays to data center projects and canceled cloud computing deals, Kress had already begun to diversify NVIDIA’s financial risk exposure to a small number of clients. NVIDIA had previously provided over $100 billion in financial support, including investments and credit guarantees, to its clients and supply chain partners. After Jensen Huang’s departure, some investors have expressed concerns that the company may tighten its financing support. One cloud service provider has even considered switching to chips from Google or AMD. In addition, Kress also faces challenges including scattered client procurement, tightened U.S. export controls, and internal power adjustments at the company. She had previously clashed with Huang, as well as his daughter and son-in-law, over company matters.