Nvidia faces defining test as Jensen Huang probe adds to chip stock turbulence

Nvidia, the world's largest chipmaker, is grappling with an unprecedented valuation test as a board inquiry into CEO Jensen Huang deepens the US chipmaker's woes. The probe, prompted by allegations of Huang's infidelity and his cooperation with a foreign intelligence investigation, has added to the turbulence surrounding the company.

Shares of Nvidia, which had already suffered a 9.3% drop on Thursday, slipped more than 5% in pre-market trading on Monday following Huang's shocking admission. This leadership scrutiny comes at a vulnerable time for investors, who are already wrestling with the potential impact of the midterm elections on Washington's chip controls and AI regulation.

The company's shares have been volatile, rebounding 2.8% on Friday before slipping again. In response, investors have turned to Chinese alternatives, with domestic chip designers Cambricon Technologies and MetaX Integrated Circuits surging in Shanghai. Meanwhile, concerns over data-center bottlenecks are mounting in the US, as Democrats now control both chambers of Congress and have flipped the governorship in Texas.

The new governor-elect campaigned on pausing approvals for new data centre facilities until state lawmakers enact community-protection measures. Morgan Stanley analysts have projected that 5 gigawatts of US data centre capacity originally slated for 2028 could be delayed to 2029 due to likely postponements in Texas and Ohio. On the international front, mounting pressure is being placed on Washington to tighten loopholes in advanced semiconductor export-control regimes.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has pushed for stricter curbs on chip shipments to China, urging the US Department of Commerce to apply existing regulations more rigorously. However, Beijing has dismissed the allegations against Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive close to Jensen Huang, as unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China.

Nvidia is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on November 17, with the chairs of three US House committees requesting Huang to brief them on November 18.