Intel CEO Calls It Quits After Stock Tanks 61%... And Investors Couldn't Be Happier

You know your leadership is on life support when stepping down causes your company’s stock to jump 5% in pre-market trading. That’s exactly what went down when Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, announced he was “retiring” after nearly four years of leading the once-dominant chipmaker into what can only be described as a never-ending spiral of missed opportunities and sad PowerPoint slides.

When Gelsinger took over in February 2021, expectations were sky-high. After all, he was Intel’s first CTO back in the day and had a successful stint as VMware’s CEO. But instead of reviving Intel’s glory days, his tenure became a highlight reel of what not to do as a CEO.

Under Gelsinger’s leadership, Intel’s stock plummeted 61% (a number that practically screams, “someone please pull the emergency brake!”). Meanwhile, rivals like Nvidia and AMD were living their best lives snapping up profits like Thanos collecting infinity stones during this AI gold rush.

Things got so bad that in August, Intel announced a massive 15% workforce reduction (about 15,000 jobs) as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting plan.

Even with billions in federal funding under the CHIPS Act, Intel couldn’t seem to make anything stick. President Biden announced Intel would receive up to $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans to support chip manufacturing. But just last week, Intel’s cut of that pie shrank to $7.86 billion, though insiders insist it wasn’t related to their track record. (Sure, Jan.)

(Source: Politico)

As Gelsinger exits, Intel CFO David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus will take the reins as interim co-CEOs. Frank Yeary, the board’s longest-serving member, will act as interim executive chair, presumably to preside over another game of “find the next scapegoat.”

Investors reacted like they’d just won the lottery, pushing Intel’s stock up 5% on the news. But before you join the crowd and bet on a miraculous turnaround, let’s not forget the company’s depressing reality: it’s still hemorrhaging market share, hasn’t cracked AI, and missed this year’s semiconductor boom by a country mile.

The silver lining? Gelsinger’s exit might give Intel the chance to stop digging its own grave. Whether they’ll find the right leader to climb out remains to be seen. For now, Intel’s future looks a lot like its stock chart: messy, volatile, and just barely trending up (at least for now).

PS: Black Friday is over, but because we’re not total grinches (well, most of us), we’re keeping the deal alive a little longer.

We’re slashing prices BIGLY on Premium Stocks.News memberships. Insert Trump Voice: “This deal? The best. You’ve never seen anything like it before. People are saying it’s the greatest discount of all time. Click here to see how outrageously generous (some might say tremendous) we’re feeling.”

Now look, nobody’s perfect, okay? Not even me (hard to believe, I know). But since we launched, our members have seen at least one 100%+ alert every single week on average. Sometimes even more. Tremendous returns. So skip the Cyber Monday doom scrolling and grab the ONLY deal that could actually make you money. 

Stock.News has positions in Intel.