Why Is Nvidia Stock Down? Separating the Huang Probe From the AI Sell-Off

Why is Nvidia stock down? Two drops in one week had two different causes. On 5 November NVDA fell 9.26% as the whole chip sector sold off, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) lost 11.21% that day. On 9 November NVDA closed down 4.27% at 178.67 USD while SMH rose 5.05%. Between the two sessions, Nvidia's board opened an independent review after media reports about CEO Jensen Huang.

Last updated: 10 November 2026

This article splits Nvidia's fall into its sector part and its company part, compares the board review with two earlier cases and lists the dates that will move each part. Market figures run to the 9 November close.

Why Is Nvidia Stock Down Today?

On Sunday, 8 November, Jensen Huang, Nvidia's co-founder and CEO, sent a letter to staff that CNBC published. In it he wrote that he had been unfaithful to his wife, took responsibility, said he supports the investigation and promised to cooperate.

The investigation is run by Nvidia's board. It opened an independent review after media reports that Huang may have been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. A committee of independent directors oversees the review with outside counsel. The board said it has no reason to believe that national security or Nvidia's secrets were compromised and that it has confidence in Huang. Nvidia told CNBC that Huang will continue to lead the company as CEO.

The reports behind the review remain media reports. CNBC, citing The New York Times and the Financial Times, reported that US intelligence agencies have raised concerns that a woman named in those reports passed information to Beijing. The reports link her to a cloud company and to Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer that has faced accusations of helping restricted Chinese companies obtain Nvidia chips. Nvidia has said Megaspeed was already investigated over export controls.

Congress has questions too. Three Republican House committee chairs wrote to Huang asking him to attend a closed briefing on 18 November. As of 9 November his attendance had not been confirmed. The Nvidia stock drop on 9 November came after these open questions about the CEO and export controls became public, eight days before the company reports earnings.

On 9 November the story kept moving. According to CNBC, Huang said he fully supports the review, China's Foreign Ministry called the spy reports unsubstantiated, and President Donald Trump said Huang should stay. Calls for a briefing now come from both parties: House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said a full briefing is needed, Yahoo Finance reported. The same live coverage, citing The New York Times, reported that the Justice Department is running a criminal inquiry into Megaspeed, which denies diverting chips. In the same coverage, Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson said the board's statement lowers the odds of a change at the top.

How Much of the Drop Is the AI Sell-Off?

The quickest way to split the fall is to compare NVDA with the chip sector on the same day. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) holds a basket of chip stocks, so it shows the sector. If NVDA falls about as much as SMH, the market is selling chip stocks as a group. If NVDA falls while SMH holds steady, the market is selling Nvidia. The gap between the two daily moves tells you which one it is. Figures come from stockanalysis.com.

The Sector Move on 5 November

On 5 November NVDA closed at 181.60 USD, down 9.26%, while SMH lost 11.21% and the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ 6.49%. Nvidia fell less than the chip sector, so that day was about chip stocks as a group. A day when every AI chip name drops at once is what the AI bubble debate looks like in prices: investors cut the whole group, whatever each company reports.

The Company Move on 9 November

On 9 November NVDA closed at 178.67 USD, down 4.27%, while SMH rose 5.05% and QQQ 3.54%. Other chipmakers rallied: AMD gained 13.26% and Broadcom 8.78%, CNBC reported. A gap of about 9.3 percentage points between Nvidia and its own sector is the clearest sign that the selling was about Nvidia, and the board review announced on 8 November falls between the two sessions.

The review may not be the whole story. Yahoo Finance also linked part of the drop to two new AI chips from Alphabet, a competitor for some of Nvidia's customers. Both explanations are company-specific, and neither one is a sector move.

What Happened to Other Stocks When a Board Looked Into the CEO?

Two earlier cases of a company acting on its CEO's conduct both ended with a departure.

At Intel, AP reported, the CEO left the same day and the chief financial officer took over while the company searched for a successor. Intel also raised its quarterly guidance that day, so the 2.4% close reflects both pieces of news. Nestlé dismissed its CEO with immediate effect once its investigation had found a breach of its code of conduct. In both cases investors had a finished story and a succession question.

Nvidia's case differs in two ways. The board has kept Huang in place and expressed confidence in him, so the review is still open with no end date. And the reports around it concern export controls, the rules that decide who may buy Nvidia chips. That keeps the question tied to Nvidia's business until the board reports.

Why Does Nvidia Move the Whole Market?

On 6 November NVDA made up 7.10% of SPY, an ETF that tracks the S&P 500, and 7.67% of QQQ. These fund weights stand in for the index weights.

A worked figure shows what that means. NVDA's 4.27% fall on 9 November took about 0.30 percentage points off SPY (7.10% × 4.27%) and about 0.33 points off QQQ. Both funds still rose that day, SPY by 2.37% and QQQ by 3.54%, because the rest of the market rallied. Anyone holding an S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 fund carries part of the Huang story without owning Nvidia directly. On days like 5 November, when the other AI chip stocks fall with it, the effect on both indices adds up, and that is why the AI bubble debate reaches ordinary index investors.

Will Nvidia Stock Recover? Dates That Will Decide It

Each part of the drop has its own trigger. The sector part answers to rates and to the mood around AI stocks. The company part answers to Nvidia's own news.

Each scenario links one piece of news to the part of the price it would move. They carry no price targets and no view on direction.

How to Follow Nvidia Into Earnings

The tool from this article is the gap between NVDA and SMH. Note both daily moves after each session. When NVDA moves in line with SMH, the sector is driving the stock. When the two split, as on 9 November, Nvidia's own news is in charge.

Put the three dates into the economic calendar and check the October CPI on 10 November at 08:30 ET against the forecast of +0.3% month on month. Our guide to the consumer price index explains why one inflation number can move every chip stock at once.

For the earnings case itself, our NVDA stock forecast sets out the thesis for the results. It was written before the board review, so read it alongside the dates above.

Conclusion

Nvidia's fall this week has two parts with separate drivers. The 9.26% drop on 5 November came with an 11.21% fall in chip stocks. The 4.27% drop on 9 November came while SMH rose 5.05% and followed the board review of Jensen Huang. The first part now depends on the inflation data on 10 November, the second on Nvidia's results on 17 November, the briefing on 18 November and the board's findings.

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