Trump Calls Jensen Huang, Interrupting NVIDIA All-Hands Meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump called CEO Jensen Huang during NVIDIA's all-hands meeting, briefly interrupting it. Three attendees confirmed this to English media.
The meeting took place at the Santa Clara headquarters, where Huang was presenting or answering questions, with thousands of remote employees watching. He took the call on his phone while still on stage, and the microphone was still on, allowing employees to hear Trump's voice, though they could not make out the content. Less than a minute later, Huang returned to the stage to continue the meeting.
NVIDIA declined to comment on the incident. Employees later discussed the interruption as internal gossip. Later that day, Trump posted a message congratulating the company on its latest quarterly report, calling the sales "amazing" and expressing optimism about the outlook.
The quarterly report showed second-quarter revenue of approximately $96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 106%; data center revenue of about $89 billion, a year-on-year increase of 117%; and a net profit of around $59.7 billion. The company guided for next quarter's revenue to be about $108 billion, with a 2% fluctuation. The stock price surged nearly 10% the day after the earnings report.
The call occurred against the backdrop of ongoing export controls, chip sales to China, and regulations on open-source models. Huang has made multiple trips to Washington, and Trump has publicly discussed whether to split the company, later stating he has come to know Huang. The company also announced the establishment of a political action committee funded by employees on the same day.
In market mechanics, the buyers are institutional funds treating NVIDIA as a core asset for AI infrastructure, while the sellers are short positions sensitive to regulatory changes. The event was driven by the earnings report and the presidential hotline occurring on the same day, with funds flowing in response to the signal that "the White House can directly call into the all-hands meeting"; benefiting are the chipmakers with the highest policy visibility, while competitors without this hotline face pressure.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
The hotline during the all-hands meeting is not just a formality; it reflects the power dynamics at play. Huang had to step away from the podium to take the call, with the microphone still on, indicating that the priority of the presidential call superseded the agenda for all employees. NVIDIA is no longer just a supplier delivering chips to customers; it is now expected to keep a channel open to Washington during meetings.
The capital pathway indicates that policy options are attached to market value. The $96 billion revenue proves demand, while the hotline indicates that there is a license above that demand. Export controls, sales to China, and open-source model regulations can rewrite the same order book into another. Money flows from data center capital expenditures into NVIDIA, and then from NVIDIA into lobbying and the political action committee. The hotline is a pricing factor, not just a side note.
This is comparable to the hotline between Lockheed and the Secretary of Defense, Exxon and the energy policy table, and the late-night calls of bankers during the financial crisis. Chips are transitioning from commercial components to strategic materials: threats of splitting have been mentioned, as have accolades, with only the understanding of Huang separating the two. The interruption of the all-hands meeting serves as a public demonstration of the strategic material identity.
Structurally, this belongs to regulatory changes. The mechanism is: when computing power exports require licenses, the president's call enters the company's production function. Those who can receive a call from the head of state during an all-hands meeting occupy a non-market position in the license queue. The Silicon Valley agenda yields to the Washington agenda in less than a minute.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
- A hotline can interrupt an all-hands meeting; a license can change the order book.
- A strategic material's meeting room always leaves a channel open to the capital.
- Revenue proves demand; the call proves there is also approval authority above demand.