Nvidia’s Kress Takes Over as OpenAI Backstop Figures Diverge

By Grace Kim

Nvidia shares closed at $166.19 on Nov. 12, 2026, down $7.54, or 4.34%, after Jensen Huang resigned as CEO and the board named finance chief Colette Kress, 59, interim chief; the shares had touched a 52-week low of $148.80 that day.

Nvidia disclosed the succession in a regulatory Form 8-K and a CEO-transition release. Kress remains CFO until the board appoints a permanent chief executive, and the board is searching inside and outside the company. Huang's resignation took effect immediately.

The close left Nvidia's market value at about $4.01 trillion. Shares traded at $167.82 at 7:59 p.m. ET in after-hours trading, above the regular-session close.

Huang resigned amid reports that he was the target of a suspected Chinese intelligence effort, which China denies.

The claim that Kress will take a tougher line with OpenAI rests on anonymous sources. They describe her as a pragmatist who opposed Huang's largest financing commitments. That reporting concerns her tenure as CFO and took place mostly inside Nvidia, which did not comment. The 8-K confirms the leadership change, not a financing-policy change.

On the August earnings call, Kress said OpenAI's commitments totaled “roughly 12 gigawatts of Nvidia compute through 2030.” She also said labs backed by Nvidia's balance sheet would make up “about a quarter of the business over the following year.” A stricter financing posture therefore affects a material revenue category.

What do the conflicting OpenAI figures mean?

• $250 billion: The Information said Kress opposed a proposed credit backstop that would let OpenAI fill 8 gigawatts of data-center capacity with Nvidia chips.
• $120 billion: Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, said the $250 billion plan for an OpenAI project in Ohio fell to $120 billion. The Information also reported $120 billion.
• $105 billion: CNBC framed the dispute around a $105 billion backstop.
• About $100 billion: The Information said Nvidia later split the arrangement and has guaranteed about $100 billion so far.

These figures come from separate accounts and cannot be added together. No report says Kress has canceled or changed an OpenAI deal in her interim role. The signed disclosure confirms the succession; the tougher OpenAI stance remains attributed reporting.

What does Kress's reported position change?

A backstop is Nvidia's promise to cover a customer's obligation if the customer cannot pay. It lets the buyer order chips sooner, but it shifts credit risk onto Nvidia's books.

The last quarterly filing showed $36 billion of off-balance-sheet backstops for neoclouds, or AI-focused cloud operators, and $20 billion tied to data-center leases. Those exposures make financing policy a revenue issue, not a credit footnote.

Adil Malik of Origin Partners said Nvidia's backstop standards had already tightened over roughly the previous three months, before Kress took the top job. Customers have pressed Nvidia to enlarge the guarantees. Nvidia's support can cover up to 25% of a deal through residual value support, meaning backing tied to financed equipment's resale value. Broadcom has offered to cover a larger share.

What is the $500 billion financing plan?

Separate August memoranda with Apollo Global Management, BlackRock and four other firms contemplated raising more than $500 billion. The plans remain preliminary. People familiar with the matter said they have produced no deals in months; the earliest a deal could be announced is January 2027.

Shares have fallen 27.28% over the past month. Over the same stretch, Nvidia's latest quarter showed revenue of $96.221 billion, up 105.85%, and the company issued current-quarter guidance of $108.0 billion.

At a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 33, a more careful backstop policy would trade some growth for revenue that depends less on Nvidia's own credit, lowering the chipmaker's exposure. Broadcom carries more customer-credit exposure because it wins business by taking on the risk Kress reportedly opposed.

For customers, the practical change is less balance-sheet-backed purchasing capacity if Nvidia tightens the terms, which could slow chip orders. For Nvidia shareholders, it means lower credit risk in exchange for a potentially slower pace of expansion.

What must Kress disclose on Nov. 17?

Kress's first earnings report as interim CEO arrives Nov. 17, with the call at 2 p.m. PT. The disclosure agenda includes updated backstop totals, any comment on OpenAI and whether the $108.0 billion guidance holds.

A close below $148.80 after that report would set a new 52-week low.