Summary:
NVIDIA shares fell sharply on November 12, 2026, amid leadership uncertainty following Jensen Huang's reported resignation. Meanwhile, semiconductor rivals AMD and Broadcom gained nearly 6% each, highlighting shifting investor sentiment across the artificial intelligence chip industry.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares were hit hard on November 12, 2026, following the surprise resignation of its longtime chief executive, Jensen Huang. While the slide was steep for NVIDIA, its semiconductor peers Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) scored big.
The differing price moves underscored how events at one major technology company can influence sentiment among investors in the chip industry.
Why did NVIDIA stock drop?
Shares of NVIDIA dropped more than 14% during Thursday’s trading session, but were able to recover much of the lost ground.
The stock later closed at $166.19, down about 4.3%.
The immediate trigger was the announcement that Huang had resigned as chief executive and from the board.
As it started its leadership transition, the company named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive.
The development came after reports of Huang’s personal conduct, creating uncertainty around corporate governance and leadership continuity.
Huang was a founder of the company in 1993 and helped transform it from a graphics-processing specialist into a major supplier of artificial intelligence computing infrastructure.
Therefore his departure caused some doubts about the future strategic direction of the company.
Why did AMD & Broadcom stock prices rise?
Meanwhile, unlike NVIDIA, its major semiconductor competitors posted solid gains during the session.
Shares of AMD climbed about 5.9% and Broadcom advanced about 5.5%.
The opposite moves may signal a possible reshuffling of market expectations in the AI chip space.
AMD is a competitor to NVIDIA in graphics chips and computing accelerators for data centers.
Broadcom makes semiconductors for the networking and designs custom chips for large-scale computing infrastructure.
Big technology companies are increasingly using different types of processors for artificial intelligence workloads.
NVIDIA is a major supplier, but alternative chip designs and suppliers are also competing for investment from cloud computing companies.
NVIDIA’s Market Position & AI Business
NVIDIA became one of the world’s most valuable tech companies due to demand for processors used to train and run advanced artificial intelligence models.
Its graphics processing units, networking equipment and software ecosystem are commonly used in big data centers.
But the company’s stock market performance had been declining prior to the leadership announcement.
The stock had tumbled from its record high in October 2026, as concerns mounted about spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
NVIDIA shares were down about 30% from their October high as of November 12.
The latest drop came as another wave of uncertainty hit a volatile period of trading.
What Does This Mean for the Semiconductor Industry?
The semiconductor sector continues to be closely linked to spending by large cloud computing operators and technology firms.
The demand for AI infrastructure includes specialized processors, advanced memory, networking equipment and high electricity consumption.
The rivalry between chip makers influences prices, who gets contracts and the market share in the future.
But buying decisions on semiconductors usually require long testing and qualification procedures.
A change in who is running a supplier does not change current supply arrangements.
“NVIDIA has a large installed base of customers and a well-established computing software ecosystem.
At the same time, AMD and Broadcom are playing in different but overlapping areas of the AI hardware market.
The trading session on November 12 highlighted a clear divergence between the stocks: NVIDIA was dealing with uncertainty specific to the company, while its rivals drew buying interest.
