Bank of America cut Nvidia, Micron and Lam Research from its US 1 list of top picks, citing no explanation, as Nvidia faces scrutiny over CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged affair.
Bank of America announced on Thursday that it has removed three semiconductor companies—Nvidia Corp., Micron Technology and Lam Research—from its US 1 list, the firm’s short roster of top‑stock ideas. The decision came without a research note or explicit explanation, even as the bank maintained its Buy rating on all three names. The timing aligns with heightened scrutiny of Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, after reports that he admitted an affair with a woman suspected of Chinese espionage.
Nvidia’s shares slipped more than 4% on Monday, extending a broader pullback that has left the chipmaker about 26% below its October record high. By contrast, Micron and Lam Research both posted gains on the same day, underscoring the mixed market reaction to the bank’s list change. Analysts at Bank of America’s chip team, led by Vivek Arya, continue to cite AI and data‑center demand as the primary growth drivers for the sector, despite the removal from the elite list.
The US 1 list is a small, high‑conviction set that signals a firm’s strongest bullish outlook. Dropping a stock from the list does not alter the underlying Buy rating but does remove the company from the bank’s most aggressive recommendation tier. Bank of America has reshuffled the list before; in February it added Lam Research and removed AMD while keeping both companies’ Buy ratings. The current move marks the first time Nvidia has been taken off the US 1 list since the bank began publishing it.
Investors will be monitoring Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report on November 17, scheduled a day before a potential closed‑door briefing with Congress that Huang has been asked to provide. The outcome of that briefing and any further developments in the alleged espionage case could influence both the chipmaker’s stock and Bank of America’s future stance. Additionally, analysts will watch whether the bank revises its list after the earnings release or provides further commentary on the rationale behind the recent cuts.
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