Nvidia shed more than $300 billion in market value in after-hours trading on Wednesday — roughly the combined worth of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs — after reports that its board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang.

The New York Times reported Wednesday afternoon that Huang had an affair with a subordinate. The Wall Street Journal followed with the news that Nvidia's board was preparing to remove him. The company's shares fell about 8% after hours, wiping out a sum larger than the market capitalizations of the world's two most important investment banks.

The financial damage gives investors a rare, quantified answer to a usually unanswerable question: how much is a chief executive worth? By the market's judgment, Huang is worth at least $300 billion.

What triggered the crisis?

Two revelations hit within days of each other. Earlier in the week, reports emerged that Huang had a romantic relationship with a woman who may be a Chinese spy. On Wednesday, the Times added the allegation of an affair with a subordinate — and the Journal reported the board was moving toward his removal.

The new element on Wednesday was not the espionage-related allegation, which had been public for days. It was the likelihood that Huang would lose his job. That prospect, not the original scandal, moved the market.

What do analysts say is at stake?

Stacy Rasgon, a top chip analyst at Bernstein Research, cut his Nvidia price target to $200 from $400 on Wednesday evening — a 50% reduction. In a note to investors, he struggled to name a plausible replacement.

"We can't even begin to speculate as to who they might find to fill Jensen's shoes," Rasgon wrote.

Earlier in the week, Rasgon had framed the potential removal in geopolitical terms. "The primary beneficiary of Jensen's removal as Nvidia's CEO would clearly be China; we hope cooler heads prevail," he wrote. He has called Huang "the architect of the US AI trajectory."

Other analysts echoed the warning on Wednesday night. Brad Gastwirth, global head of research at Circular Technology, said the timing could not be worse for American competitiveness.

"This would be a setback for the US, particularly as China continues aggressively investing in its own AI capabilities," Gastwirth said. "Removing Jensen would be a tremendous mistake. Nvidia is central to America's AI leadership, and losing Jensen at this stage could create unnecessary disruption."

Why does one CEO matter so much?

The technology at issue — artificial intelligence — is, in the assessment of analysts covering the story, the most powerful new technology to emerge since the dawn of the internet roughly 30 years ago. The United States currently leads the field, with China in second place and investing aggressively to close the gap.

Huang built Nvidia into the engine of that boom. The company's chips power the AI systems behind the entire American lead, and no obvious successor exists inside or outside the company, according to Rasgon's assessment. Removing the founder-led architect of the US AI trajectory — at the exact moment Beijing is pouring money into its own capabilities — is the risk analysts say the board must weigh.

What are the board's obligations?

The board faces pressure from two directions. Huang's conduct, particularly the relationship with a possible Chinese spy, raises serious questions the directors cannot ignore. If they do nothing, they expose themselves to legal risk as representatives of Nvidia's shareholders.

Hiring and firing executives is one of the few real powers a public company board holds, and situations like this one force directors to exercise it under public scrutiny.

But the directors must also weigh the cost of losing Huang — and as of Wednesday night, the market had priced that cost at a minimum of $300 billion.

Gastwirth said the board must act responsibly but should not confuse diligence with removal. "The board obviously needs to take the allegations seriously, particularly anything involving national security," he said. "Unless the investigation uncovers something that makes his position untenable, I believe the board would be making a major strategic mistake by removing him."

What happens next?

Nvidia has not confirmed the board's plans. The stock's after-hours decline of about 8% reflects investor fear of a leadership vacuum at the center of the AI economy, not the underlying business. Rasgon's halved price target — $400 to $400 halved to $200 — signals a fundamental repricing of the company if Huang departs.

The summary judgment from the market: Huang's personal conduct created the crisis, but his removal would be a $300 billion decision with a named beneficiary. As Rasgon wrote, that beneficiary would clearly be China.