Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with a reported Chinese spy damages this key investing factor

Investing in a public company’s stock is more than crunching numbers.

I have heard from a lot of you about the hot water that Nvidia’s (NVDA) celebrated CEO, Jensen Huang, is in following his admission to having cheated on his wife of 40-plus years with a reported Chinese spy. I said on X (see below) that Nvidia is now in its first true crisis, arguably since its founding in 1993. 

Some of you pushed back on me for coining it a crisis, calling attention to Nvidia’s strong demand pipeline and leadership position in AI chips. I suspect Jensen’s vision has helped make you a lot of money through the years, so I get why the first instinct is to sweep this under the rug and voice support for Huang. 

I am not going to deny that you have a point on the fundamentals of the business. I also won’t deny that Huang is a generational founder of a transformational business.

But make no mistake: This is a crisis created by Huang that didn’t need to happen. And it all boils down to trust.

If Huang can have an affair with a reported Chinese spy, can we trust what he says about AI demand being off the charts for as far as the eye can see? Can we trust that he didn’t divulge company secrets to this person? Can we trust that this is a one-off for him and that he will emerge as a changed human being? Can we trust that he will finally put forth a clear succession plan? 

So there is all of that. 

Then there is…