Fundstrat’s Tom Lee listed “China hawks,” frontier labs, Nvidia competitors, “anti-AI people,” and short sellers among the groups that could potentially want Huang removed.
- According to a New York Times report, President Donald Trump had urged Huang to fight to keep his job.
- Huang resigned as Nvidia’s CEO, president and board member on Thursday, effective immediately, with CFO Colette Kress serving as interim CEO.
- Prediction markets show that Kress, Nvidia Vice President Ian Buck, Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su are among the top contenders to replace Huang.
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said on Friday that former Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s potential return to the company would be a “powerful” and “shocking” comeback story, while flagging that “many forces” could have potentially wanted him removed.
“There were many forces that potentially would like to see Jensen Huang removed as CEO of Nvidia,” he wrote in a post on X. “Would be a powerful (and shocking) redemption story if he could be reinstated as CEO.”
He listed “China hawks,” frontier labs, Nvidia competitors, “anti-AI people,” and short sellers among them, but did not provide evidence to support the list.
Lee’s comments come after several Nvidia employees reportedly petitioned the company to bring back Jensen Huang, who resigned as CEO on Thursday after his multiple illicit affairs came to light, even as the executive faces a government inquiry for his involvement with a suspected Chinese spy. According to a New York Times report, President Donald Trump had “urged” Huang to fight for his job.
NVDA stock was down over 2% in afternoon trade on Friday and among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around Nvidia on the platform trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘extremely high’ levels.
Trump Reportedly Urged Huang To Fight
Huang resigned as president, CEO, and board member on Thursday, effective immediately, according to an Nvidia filing. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim CEO.
The New York Times, citing two unnamed sources, reported that Trump called Huang this week and urged him to fight to retain his position. The report said Trump continued to back Huang despite questions surrounding the resignation, including those related to personal and national security.
Trump also floated a possible replacement on Thursday after the announcement of Huang’s resignation. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that “there is only one man to take his place - TIM COOK of Apple.” Cook has stepped down as Apple’s CEO but remains executive chairman. He has not publicly indicated whether he would consider the role.
Who Could Succeed Jensen Huang?
Prediction markets show that Kress, Ian Buck, NVIDIA's Vice President and General Manager of Hyperscale and High-Performance Computing (HPC), Arm CEO Rene Haas – who has nearly a decade of experience working at Nvidia – and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su are among the top contenders.
Many on Wall Street believe that the leadership uncertainty and the lack of a succession plan are likely to weigh on the stock for a while.
According to TheFly, HSBC analyst Frank Lee downgraded Nvidia to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ and cut his price target by more than half, to $170 from $365. Like the others, Lee cited greater long-term uncertainty and shaken investor confidence due to the lack of a clear succession plan for the downgrade.
HSBC said Nvidia’s fiscal 2028 fundamentals remain intact. However, the firm stated that Congressional scrutiny amid the investigation into Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy could lead to tighter export restrictions. Its sensitivity analysis suggests such restrictions could reduce fiscal 2028 earnings estimates by 13%.
Jensen Huang is reportedly slated to come before Congress in a closed-door meeting before Thanksgiving. The Senate has also asked him to appear before the Banking Committee on December 2.
Read also: Nvidia Fallout Widens: Commerce Secretary Lutnick To Appear Voluntarily Before Senate, Huang Agrees To Testify Before Thanksgiving
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