Well-known investor Bill Ackman is among the voices speaking out in support of Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang as the company’s board investigates a reported foreign intelligence effort tied to his affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
Ackman on Huang
Ackman’s investments in technology stocks have been growing and while they don’t include Nvidia, they include some Magnificent Seven stocks that could be indirectly hurt by any big changes to Nvidia.
Over the weekend, Huang admitted to an affair in an email to employees, and Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into a reported foreign intelligence effort targeting him.
Ackman took to social media to show support for the Nvidia co-founder and CEO.
“An alert: @JensenHuang is human. And he is an incredible human. Even incredible humans make mistakes. He takes full responsibility as he should. We should all support him and his family. Onward,” Ackman tweeted.
Ackman later added a follow-up to his post.
“I am not suggesting he gets a free pass. If indeed this is more than an affair, then it is obviously a real problem. I like the guy. He has done a lot of good for the world and I hope the damage here is minimal. That is, I am hoping for a simple affair, not a risk to our national security,” Ackman added.
The comments to Ackman’s post questioned whether he was downplaying the affair and family issue. Others highlighted that Ackman had previously publicly backed the innocence of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried before Bankman-Fried was jailed for fraud.
Ackman is an investor in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) via Pershing Square. These three Magnificent Seven stocks could come under pressure from Nvidia weakness or a CEO change at the chipmaker.
Nvidia is a leader among the technology sector, Magnificent Seven stocks and AI-related stocks. Ackman’s portfolio has potential losses ahead if Huang leaves or is fired from Nvidia.
Earnings on Deck
The news surrounding Nvidia stock and Huang comes ahead of quarterly financial results, which will be reported on Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Analysts expect the company to report revenue of $109.17 billion and earnings per share of $2.48, up from $57.01 billion and $1.30, respectively, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in 16 straight quarters and beaten earnings estimates in 15 straight quarters.
Nvidia shares rose about 9% the day after its last earnings report in August, when the company beat revenue and earnings estimates and guided third-quarter sales above expectations.
This could be one of Nvidia’s most anticipated quarterly reports, with technology stocks selling off after the midterm elections and investors worried about the AI and data-center trade.
Nvidia Stock Price Action
NVDA Price Action: Nvidia shares were down 3.76% at $179.62 at the time of publication Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. The stock’s 52-week range is $164.27 to $243.37.
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