• Stocks: All three major indexes slipped as Jensen Huang’s resignation prompted an Nvidia selloff that dragged down other tech stocks. Gains in AMD, Broadcom, and energy stocks partially offset the plunge.
• Commodities: Oil prices surged after Trump ruled out the need for a deal with Iran, fueling concerns about prolonged Middle East disruptions, while gold futures tumbled as rising yields and a stronger dollar weighed on the metal.
• Bonds: Treasurys tumbled as rising oil prices fueled inflation fears and expectations of further Fed rate hikes, pushing the 10-year yield above 5.1%.

AI

Morning Brew Inc, Photos: Joel Saget/Getty Images, Nvidia

Wall Street isn’t exactly known for getting sentimental. But Jensen Huang’s ouster today has analysts sounding less like stock pickers and more like they’re processing a breakup.

The Nvidia co-founder and CEO resigned today amid a scandal involving alleged affairs and national security concerns. CFO Colette Kress is taking over temporarily as the company searches for a successor. Nvidia shares plunged 4.34%, wiping out more than $600 billion in market value at its lowest point today, while the selloff spread to AI infrastructure companies including CoreWeave, Dell, and Super Micro Computer.

The shock left even Wall Street struggling for words. TD Cowen’s Joshua Buchalter called Huang’s departure “shocking, unprecedented, and sad,” as he removed Nvidia from the firm’s top picks. “Nothing prepares you for what has happened at Nvidia,” added longtime chip bull Ben Reitzes of Melius Research in his downgrade from Buy to Hold.

But the uncertainty extends beyond Nvidia’s stock. Huang helped finance the AI boom itself, and investors are questioning what happens without its biggest dealmaker.

Put up or pay up

Huang played something resembling AI’s central banker, using Nvidia’s financial resources to support companies building the infrastructure that buys its chips.

Call it the Nvidia put: Huang’s firm was a guaranteed buyer and financial backstop in much of the AI economy. Nvidia has committed billions through startup investments, computing-capacity purchases, and data center lending—allowing AI companies to secure financing, and generating more demand for Nvidia chips in the process.

Circular? Maybe. But they also kept the AI spending machine running. Without Huang driving those deals, a more cautious successor could scale back future commitments, raising borrowing costs for AI companies and slowing the money flow.

Burn the books

Today, the banks are divided. Bernstein downgraded Nvidia and halved its price target to $200, even while acknowledging that its underlying business remains strong. Oppenheimer also downgraded the stock, warning that Huang’s departure could trigger a talent exodus. Citi, meanwhile, maintained its Buy rating. Analysts may not be questioning the fate of Nvidia’s chips, but its growth without Huang.

That’s dragged down the AI companies he invested in, and left an opening for competitors like AMD and Broadcom. Nvidia’s chips are still essential, and existing financing contracts won’t simply disappear. But future deals could face tougher scrutiny, potentially raising the cost of building AI infrastructure.

One thing’s certain: Nvidia’s next CEO has some big shoes—and an even bigger checkbook—to fill.—HC

      

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Stocks

🟢 What’s up

• AMD popped 5.86% and Broadcom gained 5.54% as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s resignation boosted rival chipmakers, with William Blair upgrading AMD to Outperform.
• Aevex surged 13.53% thanks to a raised full-year outlook, with revenue from outside Ukraine surpassing its Ukraine-related business for the first time.
• Fermi rallied 13.81% following a new agreement with an unnamed AI customer, boosting confidence in its data center expansion plans.
• Intuitive Machines climbed 6.98% on stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with its order backlog growing to $1.9 billion.

🔴 What’s down

• Super Micro Computer tumbled 11.30% following reports that the company could face a Justice Department probe over its ties to Nvidia and China.
• Nebius sank 16.84% despite quarterly revenue surging 571%, as the AI cloud provider warned of delays in recognizing future revenue.
• Corteva dropped 24.30% following weaker-than-expected guidance from the agricultural chemicals company.
• Drone maker Ondas fell 7.16% despite reporting a 1,558% jump in quarterly revenue and moving up its timeline for reaching breakeven adjusted earnings.
• Strategy slipped 6.49% as new eligibility rules from MSCI threatened to exclude the Bitcoin investor from its global indexes later this month.
• Alibaba fell 7.07% amid reports of tighter US restrictions on Chinese companies’ access to advanced AI chips overseas.

Stock of the day

Kraft’s culinary liberties

Morning Brew Inc, Photos: Adobe Stock, Kraft

When the classics stop selling, sometimes you have to get a little weird.

Kraft Heinz has spent years slogging through lower sales. So it’s putting something else on the front burner—new spins on familiar products it hopes buyers (and investors) will add to their carts. But these dishes include some unusual ingredients. Among the offerings coming to shelves soon:

• Protein Jell-O: New instant pudding options pack in the macro of the moment.
• Fiber lemonade: Crystal Light, Kraft’s brand of powdered drink mixes, will come with nutrient-heavy variants that add fiber and protein.
• Cheesy ramen: Kraft Mac & Cheese will debut a ramen version, an instant-noodle take that sold out in its first week in Canada.
• And round bacon? Yes. Packaged under Oscar Mayer, the deli-fied version of bacon comes in sandwich-ready circular slices.

“These brands have been underinvested in for over 10 years,” CEO Steve Cahillane, appointed last year, told the Wall Street Journal. The out-there products are just one part of his strategy, which has also tossed $700 million and nearly 400 new employees into Kraft Heinz’s pot.

Give the plan time to simmer, Cahillane said. He expects sales to be flat next year, and that sales and profits will return to full-year growth in 2028. It looks like investors are already watching the stovetop: Kraft Heinz stock bubbled up a modest 0.91%.—GR

Tech

Morning Brew Inc, Photos: Adobe Stock

School lunch is usually the time for students to catch up with friends and debate the mystery meet. But for one teen, it was more often spent scrolling through Instagram in a bathroom stall—with her later logging as many as 16 hours a day on the app. Years later, the young woman testified about her addictive algorithms in a Los Angeles courtroom, where a jury awarded her $6 million after finding Meta and YouTube liable for harming her mental health.

That verdict helped accelerate a costly legal reckoning for social media giants. According to a new Bloomberg investigation, major companies have quietly reached roughly a dozen confidential settlements with young plaintiffs in recent months, most ranging from $2 million to $2.5 million each.

• Meta: Agreed to pay two teens a combined $7 million in just the last two weeks.
• TikTok: Paid three teens $2.5 million each in August.
• YouTube: Paid two teens $2.25 million each in September after settling with another for just over $2 million in June.

The lawsuits allege that addictive features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, and personalized feeds contribute to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health problems. The companies deny wrongdoing and say they’ve invested heavily in protecting young users. Regardless, that has serious implications for their margins—and the future of where their profits come from.

The limits of unlimited scroll

Roughly 9,800 personal injury lawsuits are still pending against Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, along with cases brought by around 2,000 school districts. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates the industry’s collective theoretical liability could approach $400 billion (though actual payouts could be far lower).

But the lawsuits’ bigger threat may be to Big Tech’s business models. Social media companies make money by keeping users scrolling, then selling ads against that attention. Now, the very features that drive engagement are coming under fire:

• Meta agreed to limit users under 18 to two hours a day across Facebook and Instagram, with restrictions on nighttime access and notifications for the next decade, as part of a separate multibillion-dollar settlement with US states.
• California passed a law banning features such as personalized feeds, infinite scrolling, and autoplay for users under 16 starting in January. Meta, Google, and TikTok sued last week to block it.
• The EU is considering rules that would let even adult users disable features designed to keep them scrolling, potentially threatening engagement beyond the teenage demographic.

Profits take a hit

Those costs are already showing up in earnings. Meta took a $9.9 billion charge tied to its separate state settlement last quarter, helping push operating profit down 37% despite a 26% jump in revenue.

Snap, meanwhile, warned in its latest earnings report that legal scrutiny could hurt user growth and engagement. The “evolving legal and regulatory landscape” could “materially impact our business and financial results,” CFO Doug Hott said in a call with investors.

With more trials on the horizon, social media execs may get to live an experience akin to their own creation: doomscrolling through one lawsuit after another, with no end in sight. —SY

      

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News

• So who introduced Jensen Huang to his alleged Chinese spy mistress? Someone closer than you’d think.
• Meanwhile, President Trump says there’s “only one man” who should take Jensen’s job.
• Nobody’s buying, but nobody’s discounting. Existing-home sales fell to their lowest level since 2010, even as prices kept climbing.
• At United Airlines, your AI travel agent just got put on the no-fly list.
• Running out of limes during happy hour? Instacart is partnering with Provi to rescue bars from last-minute supply emergencies.
• Cravath should probably look into remedial compliance school, given that one of its employees was just hit with five-figure insider trading charges.
• Looks like Wall Street’s watchdog has lost its bite.

Calendar

Inflation—and the hints it can send about a potential rate hike—catches our attention again with the release of the producer price index. Japan’s banking giants Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho close out the earnings week.

recs

💰 Should you buy Nvidia stock while it’s down? Here’s how investors can turn the dip into an opportunity.

🎮 One great heist: The new Grand Theft Auto release makes this game developer’s stock look like a steal.

❤️‍🩹 Retirement costs could climb in 2027. These three healthcare moves could help keep them in check.

🏉 A different kind of lending: One NFL general manager is mortgaging his team’s future in a deal many traders can learn from.

🎁 Holiday deals have already dropped. Retail industry experts recommend these five key tips to save big this season.

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