Jane Street more than doubles its Nvidia stake amid CEO scandal

A massive increase in holdings

Jane Street, a prominent quantitative trading firm on Wall Street, significantly expanded its investment in Nvidia during the third quarter. According to regulatory filings reviewed by Fortune, the firm more than doubled its stake in the chipmaker over a three-month period. This move comes as the broader market reacts to a series of internal scandals at the company.

The firm's holdings grew from 11.8 million shares in the second quarter to 23.8 million shares by September 30. At the end of the third quarter, these shares were valued at approximately $5.44 billion based on a price of $228.38. This position currently ranks as the firm's second-largest holding, surpassed only by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

The 13F filing, which is a standard quarterly report of a firm's equity holdings, does not specify the exact timing of these purchases. It also does not disclose the specific profits or losses Jane Street has realized on the trade. Because these filings are retrospective, they do not show the firm's current positions or any trades made after the reporting date.

Market turmoil and leadership shifts

The timing of Jane Street's investment is notable because it occurred just weeks before a major leadership crisis at Nvidia. Jensen Huang, who cofounded the company in 1993, resigned as CEO following reports of multiple extramarital affairs. These reports included a relationship with a woman whom U.S. authorities suspect of spying for China.

The scandal caused Nvidia shares to experience a sharp decline, falling nearly 13% over a five-day period. By mid-Thursday, the stock reached an intraday low that was the lowest point in 17 months. In the wake of Huang's departure, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was appointed as the interim CEO to lead the company.

Huang's exit was preceded by a message to employees in which he admitted to being unfaithful and apologized for his actions. He also expressed his support for an independent investigation into whether he was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. The company continues to navigate the fallout from these personal and security-related revelations.

Decoding the 13F filing

For investors trying to understand Jane Street's strategy, these filings can be difficult to interpret perfectly. The 13F does not include short positions, which are bets that a stock's price will fall. This means the firm could have theoretically taken a short position on Nvidia after the reporting period ended to profit from the recent price drop.

The filings also include complex instruments like puts and calls, which are types of options contracts. These are reported using the notional value of the underlying shares rather than the actual amount of money invested. This reporting method can make a firm's position look much larger than its actual financial exposure.

Because of these factors, a large reported position does not always indicate a massive directional bet. It can be difficult to determine the firm's true net exposure when offsetting trades are taken into account. Jane Street did not provide an immediate comment to Fortune regarding the specific logic behind these holdings.

Trading revenue and recent hits

Despite the recent volatility, Jane Street has shown significant growth in its overall trading operations. Reports from Reuters indicated that the firm generated more than $40 billion in trading revenue in 2026. This figure surpassed its total revenue for all of 2025, which was $39.6 billion, and beat the revenues of the nation's largest banks.

However, the firm has faced some notable setbacks in its investment portfolio recently. One report suggested that Jane Street took a $15 billion hit due to its exposure to Situational Awareness, a hedge fund focused on AI. That fund was forced to sell its equities portfolio to Citadel after a market downturn triggered margin calls.

Jane Street told its employees that this specific drawdown left its investment roughly flat for the year. While the firm remained profitable over the full period, these events highlight the risks inherent in the AI-focused investment space. The firm's ability to navigate these fluctuations remains a key point of interest for market observers.