CNBC's Jim Cramer criticized former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday for putting the chipmaker's future at risk.
"Did he betray you, the shareholders?" Cramer asked. "Yes. End of story."
Huang resigned Thursday morning following reports of an affair with an Nvidia executive who reported to him. Hours later, Reuters reported that he had an "intimate relationship" with a second employee. These revelations came days after Huang admitted to an affair with an executive at a Singapore-based cloud computing company whom U.S. intelligence agencies suspect of spying for China. Longtime CFO Colette Kress was named interim CEO of Nvidia. Cramer said Huang's departure was necessary to protect Nvidia from further fallout.
Shares ended Thursday down more than 4%, but at its lows of the morning, the stock was off over 14%. The decline in Thursday's session brings Nvidia's losses this year to 12%.
While questions remain about what comes next for the AI chipmaker, Cramer argued that Nvidia's future extends beyond the executive who helped build it into one of the world's most valuable companies. "There won't be a better Nvidia, just a different one [without Huang]," Cramer said, envisioning a company that is better organized and more disciplined about its investments.
Under Huang, Nvidia built an extensive equity investment portfolio that included a $5 billion investment in Intel in 2025 and a $2 billion investment in AI cloud provider CoreWeave earlier this year. The investments, and many others, were part of Huang's strategy to strengthen Nvidia's position across the AI industry.
During the CNBC Investing Club's Morning Meeting livestream Thursday, Cramer recalled urging Kress to reduce the company's stakes in Intel and CoreWeave, only to be told that Huang preferred to maintain them. Cramer suggested that new leadership could take a more disciplined approach to capital allocation, potentially cashing in on some of those investments and returning the proceeds to shareholders through even bigger stock buybacks.
Cramer expressed confidence in Kress, praising her deep understanding of Nvidia's operations and financials. He argued that the longtime finance chief is well positioned to provide stability as the company navigates the investigations surrounding Huang, which stretch from the boardroom to Washington, D.C.
Nvidia didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment on Cramer's remarks. Heller, the crisis PR firm Huang reportedly hired as early as last year, did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Going forward, Nvidia's underlying business remains strong, Cramer said, pointing to its substantial cash reserves and expectations for a robust earnings report Tuesday evening. But he cautioned that even strong quarterly results might not be enough to reassure investors during this time of lingering uncertainty.
Investigations into Huang's conduct and possible violations of U.S. chip export restrictions could result in sanctions that hurt Nvidia's international business. Meanwhile, competitors, including Advanced Micro Devices , are making progress with their own AI chips, potentially threatening Nvidia's market dominance. AMD shares surged almost 6% on Thursday, extending their winning streak to five straight sessions.
Those risks have prompted Cramer to take a more cautious approach to Nvidia stock , particularly after the substantial gains shares have delivered over the years for Cramer's Charitable Trust , the portfolio of 32 stocks managed by the Club. On Tuesday, as Huang's future at Nvidia looked more and more in doubt, the Club downgraded Nvidia to a hold-equivalent rating.
"Don't ever turn a successful investment into an unsuccessful trade," he said, urging longtime shareholders sitting on big gains to consider taking some profits. "You don't want to give up all of your gains if the stock falls further. It fell further today after many of the analysts jumped ship and downgraded the stock from buy to hold. There could be more ahead."
At the same time, Cramer cautioned against giving up on Nvidia altogether, pointing to the company's extensive engineering expertise and multiyear product roadmap as reasons to believe it can continue competing at the forefront of AI without Huang.
The "Mad Money" host also drew parallels to Apple's leadership transition from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook , suggesting that Nvidia could benefit from a similarly capable successor who brings a different management style without sacrificing the company's technological edge.
Click here to read Jim Cramer's Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter
Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer's every move in the market.
Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram
Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? [email protected]
