Intel Axes Jobs—Stock Pops Like It’s 1999

INTC shares rally as cost-cutting buzz overshadows human cost. Wall Street shrugs—another ’efficiency play’ to juice the numbers. Tech analysts whisper ’restructuring,’ employees hear ’pink slips.’ The old Wall Street adage holds: blood in the halls means green on the screen. Just don’t ask about the R&D pipeline.

Intel Earnings Report On The Way

The US chipmaker is also set to announce its Q1 earnings report on Thursday, which has investors waiting. Indeed, investors are hopeful of a revival for Intel and INTC stock, as the shares have lost about 40% of their value in the past 12 months alone. For the first quarter, Intel is expected to report adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01 on revenue of $12.3 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. That’s down from the $0.18 per share and $12.7 billion Intel reported in the same period last year. Furthermore, analysts expect Intel to report client computing revenue of $6.9 billion, down from $7.5 billion in Q1 2024, with both laptop and computer chip sales declining year over year.

Intel is also expected to face an uphill battle due to looming tariff threats, like most top chipmakers. While Intel produces the bulk of its chips in the US, it is still susceptible to tariffs on laptops and other systems built in China. And while laptops and other computers are exempt from tariffs for now, the Trump administration has said that it plans to reintroduce duties on those devices when it launches tariffs on semiconductors in the coming weeks and months.

INTC is currently trading NEAR the bottom of its 52-week range and below its 200-day simple moving average. CNN Analysts are wary about Thursday’s earnings report, and most experts advise holding onto the stock, not buying or selling specifically.