NVDA: Nvidia Stock Slumps Over 6% as US Chip Restrictions Could Add $5.5 Billion in Charges

Chipmaker said in a filing that it would be hit with a $5.5 billion charge on the export of its H20 chips to China.

💥 Nvidia Gets Clipped by Geopolitical Crossfire

• Nvidia stock NVDA tumbled more than 6% in pre-market trading Wednesday after some troubling news. The chipmaking giant finally ran into the geopolitical maze as it became the latest victim of the trade shootout between the US and China. US export restrictions, Jensen Huang’s worst nightmare, probably, just got worse.
• The company disclosed in a filing late on Tuesday that it could be hit with $5.5 billion in charges tied to newly tightened US export restrictions targeting high-end semiconductors bound for China.

📦 H20 Chip Gets Blocked, Instantly

• In the filing, Nvidia revealed that the US government notified the company last week that its H20 AI chip — designed specifically to comply with earlier restrictions — would now require an export license for sales to China and Hong Kong. That license is effective immediately, and, according to federal officials, "will be in effect for the indefinite future."
• The reason? Washington fears the chips could be used in or diverted to Chinese supercomputers, escalating concerns around national security and the AI arms race.

🚧 The AI Boom Meets a Policy Wall

• The sting is especially sharp because the H20 chip wasn’t some side hustle — it was a $12 to $15 billion revenue driver in 2024, engineered precisely to stay on the right side of the law after previous crackdowns. The US had already restricted AI chip exports under President Biden in 2022, then tightened those rules again in 2023.
• For a company at the center of the AI boom — and a stock that’s been a poster child for megacap growth — this move delivers a chilling reminder: no product is safe from geopolitics. Nvidia reports fiscal first-quarter earnings results on May 28.