NVIDIA

Within a week Nvidia lost roughly $1 trillion in market value, triggered by an affair involving CEO Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese spy. Analyst Dan Ives estimates Nvidia would be 25–30% less valuable without Huang; other experts also see significant downside risk but do not specify concrete discounts. Despite the crisis, fundamentals remain strong: twelve quarters of at least 50% revenue growth and a 75% gross margin, with the average updated analyst price target around $333. Ongoing internal investigations and possible political reviews could, however, extend uncertainty and pressure on the stock for weeks to months. » More on handelsblatt.com

Megaspeed International, a major buyer of Nvidia AI chips, has vacant or dubious offices in Singapore, Australia and Malaysia, prompting questions that it may be a front for Chinese interests and part of alleged chip diversion to China. U.S. and Singapore authorities are probing accusations that Megaspeed and affiliates acquired and moved restricted Nvidia processors, and investigators are examining links between Megaspeed executive Alice Huang and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Megaspeed denies illegal transfers and says multiple inspections found no evidence of violations; Nvidia opened an independent review and faces a shareholder lawsuit over disclosure of the relationship. » More on cbsnews.com

Nvidia has retained former US prosecutor Joon H. Kim and the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with a woman US officials suspect is a Chinese spy. The probe follows reports linking Huang to Alice Huang of Nvidia customer Megaspeed and has coincided with heavy stock losses. Nvidia’s market value has fallen by about $430bn, leaving the company around $4.07tn after recent share drops of roughly 5.5% and earlier declines. » More on theguardian.com

FBI investigations into an alleged Chinese spy have jeopardized Nvidia chief Jensen Huang's position. Huang owns only 3.6 percent of the shares and has no veto power; the decision about his future lies with the board, which could push for his removal if it finds he misled them. SEC or DOJ probes could result in bans from office or criminal consequences, and political measures — such as restricted export licenses or limits on government contracts — could put additional pressure on Nvidia. Markets and major shareholders could therefore force a leadership change if the economic risks outweigh the benefits of the current management. » More on n-tv.de

The affair involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and an alleged Chinese spy has put the stock under pressure; the share price fell 5.5 percent on Tuesday to $168.80. Over the course of a week the price dropped from $206.69 to $168.80 and market value shrank by about one trillion to roughly four trillion dollars. Other chip stocks such as Seagate, Sandisk, Micron Technology and Intel also fell, partly due to worries about further interest-rate hikes and costlier investments in AI infrastructure. » More on faz.net