Silicon Valley "Roll King" NVIDIA! Some people work seven days a week, rich but no life to spend
In the tech industry, the phenomenon of "lying flat and waiting for stocks to mature" is very common, but it does not exist at NVIDIA. Some employees work seven days a week, working until the early hours of the morning, but they are reluctant to leave because the compensation is too high. A current employee stated that the practice of lying flat and waiting for stocks to mature makes employees out of sync with the company and others, and those who attempt to do so become the subject of internal criticism
As the most successful company in the AI boom, NVIDIA's stock price has skyrocketed by 3776% since 2019, making many employees millionaires. However, according to media reports, NVIDIA employees are still in a state of "having money but no time to spend it", as the tight work schedule and high pressure leave them with no time to enjoy the wealth.
Bloomberg News interviewed 10 NVIDIA employees who requested anonymity. Some mentioned that NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang has established an expectation of hard work and overwork, with a chaotic management structure where a manager may have dozens of direct subordinates. Huang has previously stated that he prefers to "torture them until they become excellent" rather than lay off employees like competitors.
A former employee who worked in the enterprise customer technical support department mentioned that he was required to work 7 days a week, often until 1 or 2 in the morning. He noted that many former colleagues, especially members of the engineering team, worked even longer hours. He described the work environment as a pressure cooker, but the generous compensation package made it difficult for him to leave. He resigned in May this year and requested anonymity to speak candidly about the company.
Another former marketing employee who left in 2022 mentioned that she often attended 7 to 10 meetings per day, each with over 30 participants, where arguments and shouting were common. However, she endured for two years, also due to the substantial compensation.
NVIDIA declined to comment on the matter.
In recent years, NVIDIA has not faced significant difficulties in retaining employees, partly because its stock rewards are typically obtainable within four years, motivating employees to stay to receive the full compensation package. According to NVIDIA's 2024 Sustainability Report, the employee turnover rate in 2023 was 5.3%, but after the company's market value exceeded $1 trillion, this rate nearly halved to 2.7%. In comparison, the turnover rate in the entire semiconductor industry is much higher at 17.7%.
Analysis suggests that the phenomenon of "lying flat and waiting for stock maturity" is very common in the tech industry, but it does not exist at NVIDIA. A current employee mentioned that lying flat and waiting for stock maturity would make employees out of sync with the company and others, and those attempting to do so become subjects of internal criticism.
According to a former employee, at a staff meeting at the end of last year, some employees complained to Jensen Huang that some colleagues were in a "semi-retired" state.
A former engineering employee mentioned that those who have worked in the company for nearly a decade should have accumulated enough wealth to retire. However, many have not done so because when the next stock reward matures, there are still millions of dollars waiting for them.
Reports indicate that Jensen Huang has 60 direct subordinates and he does not have time to deal with formalities, detailed PowerPoint presentations, or one-on-one meetings. He personally participates in seemingly trivial decisions, such as selecting photos for marketing campaigns. Jensen Huang is known for requiring NVIDIA employees to regularly send emails to a centralized mailbox listing the five things they are working on. Sometimes, Huang will directly reply to these emails, requesting more detailed information or giving instructions Jensen Huang stated that his leadership style has been influenced by facing "real adversity" in operating NVIDIA for over 30 years. He told employees that he is pushing them to accomplish their life's work. "If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn't be easy."
Most employees seem to appreciate Jensen Huang's extraordinary leadership style. Jensen Huang's approval rating on the job site Glassdoor is 97%, higher than peers such as Alphabet Inc. (94%), Apple Inc. (87%), Meta Platforms Inc. (66%), and Amazon.com Inc. (54%).
According to a previous article by Wall Street News, NVIDIA is set to announce its second-quarter earnings after the market closes on August 28th (August 29th Beijing time). Wedbush stated that this event could be the "most important" event in the tech industry in years.
Analysts generally expect the company's revenue for the new quarter to be $28.67 billion, a year-on-year increase of 112.2%. Despite a slowdown compared to the over 250% growth in the same period last year, the growth is still strong, with an estimated earnings per share of $0.64.
Despite a recent cooling of AI investment enthusiasm, Wedbush remains bullish on NVIDIA. Analyst Matt Bryson from the firm stated that the "wave" of $1 trillion in AI spending he previously predicted is underway, and tech companies are still in the early stages of investing in AI hardware.
HSBC is also optimistic about NVIDIA. On August 21st, HSBC analyst Frank Lee raised NVIDIA's target price from $135 to $145 and maintained a buy rating. Lee believes that due to the continued strong demand for AI GPUs, NVIDIA will continue to grow, with "limited impact on earnings from delays in the product roadmap."
HSBC expects NVIDIA's second-quarter sales to reach $30 billion, exceeding the company's guidance and the market's general expectations of $28 billion and $28.6 billion