Nvidia falls about 4% as board opens probe into Jensen Huang
The board launched an independent review over reports of a foreign intelligence effort targeting its CEO. It says it sees no sign that secrets were compromised.
Nvidia's board of directors announced Sunday an independent investigation into founder and CEO Jensen Huang, after reports that he was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
Shares (NVDA) slid on Wall Street. They were down about 4% around 9:56 a.m. Mexico City time and swung between 4% and more than 5% during the session. Those are intraday figures, moving by the minute, and there is no close yet.
A committee of independent directors will oversee the review with outside legal counsel. The board says it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised. Huang supports the review and will cooperate, it adds, and the board has confidence in him and his leadership team.
The reports behind the review rely on unnamed U.S. intelligence sources. No charges have been filed against anyone, and U.S. agencies have not commented officially.
Few companies carry as much weight in the market as Nvidia, which makes the artificial intelligence chips the United States restricts from export to China. That is why questions about its chief executive move the stock even though no company results have changed.
In Mexico, the effect is indirect: Nvidia is a heavy component of the U.S. indexes tracked by peso-denominated investment funds, so the start of the week showed up there too.
The statement sets no date for the investigation to end and promises updates as appropriate.
