Nvidia is suddenly in trouble

Nvidia, the AI chipmaking titan that was briefly the world’s most valuable company, has suddenly found itself in an unfamiliar position: a major rut.

Nvidia (NVDA) had the worst day in the history of the stock market Tuesday, as measured by loss in total market value. Its 9.5% share price decline shaved a stunning $279 billion off the company’s value, far outpacing the previous record of $240 billion set by Meta in 2022.

To put that shocking decline into context, only 27 companies on the planet are worth as much as Nvidia lost in value Tuesday. That $279 billion evaporation is worth more than all the shares of some of America’s biggest companies, including McDonald’s, Chevron and Pepsi.

CEO Jensen Huang, who is Nvidia’s largest individual shareholder (and fifth-largest overall, counting institutional investors like BlackRock) personally lost $10 billion in wealth Tuesday from Nvidia’s sharp tumble.