Nvidia stock (NASDAQ: NVDA) plunged more than 8% in Wednesday’s after-hours trading, while Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) advanced, as investors assessed whether a possible leadership change at the AI chipmaker could benefit its competitors.
Nvidia fell 8.61% in extended trading, reversing a 2.87% gain during the regular session, when it closed at $173.73. AMD rose 4.36% after hours and Broadcom gained 2.40%.
The divergence followed reports that Nvidia directors were considering removing chief executive Jensen Huang.
No departure has been confirmed, but the market’s reaction reflects fears of disrupted leadership and a search for alternative AI investments.
Why Nvidia’s leadership crisis shook investors
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and has guided its transition from graphics chips to the processors underpinning much of the AI boom. His influence extends from product development to partnerships with cloud providers and financing arrangements across the industry.
The board opened an independent investigation on Sunday after reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Nvidia said it had no reason to believe company secrets or national security had been compromised.
Subsequent reports that directors were discussing his removal added a new layer of uncertainty just ahead of the company’s quarterly results.
“He’s the face of Nvidia and Nvidia has been front and centre of the AI build-out,” Jun Bei Liu, a portfolio manager at Ten Cap, told Reuters. She warned that uncertainty could also affect businesses Nvidia finances or supports.
Also read: Who is Colette Kress? Nvidia board’s preferred interim CEO if Jensen Huang is ousted
Why AMD and Broadcom are attracting buyers
AMD offers competing Instinct AI accelerators, giving cloud operators an alternative to Nvidia’s graphics processors. It also supplies server CPUs, including sixth-generation EPYC chips whose general availability it announced on Tuesday.
Those CPUs support data-centre workloads but are not direct substitutes for Nvidia’s leading AI accelerators.
Broadcom has a different opportunity. It helps large technology customers design custom AI processors and supplies networking equipment connecting data-centre systems.
Its growth need not depend on replacing Nvidia chips one-for-one.
Mandeep Singh, Bloomberg Intelligence’s global technology research head, told Bloomberg that competitors including AMD and Google’s Tensor Processing Units could “have a chance to improve their market share”.
Other analysts see opportunities beyond Nvidia’s immediate difficulties.
Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider told Yahoo Finance he found AMD attractive because of its growth potential, although he considered its valuation less compelling.
Also read: Elon Musk makes stunning Jensen Huang remark as Nvidia faces leadership crisis
Could Nvidia’s rivals turn share gains into business?
Nvidia’s competitive advantages remain substantial. Its CUDA software ecosystem, accelerators and relationships with major cloud providers are embedded in customers’ systems.
Beyond selling chips, Nvidia also helps finance infrastructure expansion through investments and commitments, making any strategic changes important for smaller cloud customers and their lenders.
Second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue reached $96.2 billion, including $89 billion from Data Center operations. But shifting investments and switching suppliers are very different decisions.
“The first can happen quickly in the stock market. The second requires customers to make long-term architecture and procurement decisions around AMD,” Afsheen Afshar of Pilot Wave Holdings told MarketWatch.
Switching hardware may involve rewriting software, testing performance and renegotiating procurement plans. Even customers seeking a second supplier cannot necessarily move workloads overnight.
Nvidia’s results on 17 November will offer a clearer view of demand, margins and infrastructure spending, although earnings alone cannot settle the leadership question.
AI disclosure: AI tools assisted with research and drafting of this piece. An Invezz editor reviewed the facts, sources and wording before publication. Any opinions or analysis are Invezz’s, not those of an automated system.
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