Nvidia investors may make peace with Jensen Huang affair sooner than you think

Résumé détaillé

As Gordon Gekko might say, ethics are for wimps

The emerging sex-and-spy scandal around Nvidia’s chief executive officer, Jensen Huang, has investors in a bit of an ethical pickle – at what point does pillow talk trump profits?

News that Mr. Huang had been having an extramarital affair with a woman – and Nvidia customer – alleged to be a Chinese spy rocked the world’s markets, which for some time had considered Nvidia to be the darling of the artificial intelligence universe and Mr. Huang the wizard behind its curtain.

Under Mr. Huang’s leadership, Nvidia had become the second most valuable company on the planet, with a market capitalization of about US$4.5-trillion.

As a result, a lot of people have gotten rich quickly by investing in Nvidia.

Now, investors have a dilemma: Do they listen to the devil on one shoulder, suggesting that a personal indiscretion – even with a suspected spy – is no reason not to buy into a company Mr. Huang has led to fame and fortune? Or do they listen to the angel on the other shoulder, suggesting that a company led by a man of such low moral character – and perhaps someone who has created a credible national security risk – is no place to put one’s money?

Nvidia set to lose $470-billion in market value as Huang affair fallout deepens

Since the news broke on Monday, the angel has been winning: Nvidia’s share price sank as much as 6 per cent that first day, and is now down more than 10 per cent since before the scandal, wiping out billions of dollars in value.

Investors looking to Nvidia’s board of directors for guidance should do so with caution. The board said this week it has launched an internal, independent probe into Mr. Huang’s conduct.

But many close to the company have reportedly expressed skepticism, believing that, because of Mr. Huang’s tight control of directors, the board may be hamstrung when it comes to reprimanding or even ousting him.

Début de l'article, extrait de The Globe and Mail (Report on Business). Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.