Intel Stock Attempts Breakout After 7% INTC Surge on Restructuring Plans
Intel’s stock had a wild session as investors digested news of major layoffs and a new strategic focus in chip manufacturing.
Quick overview
- Intel's stock experienced volatile trading, initially rising due to optimism about its new chip-manufacturing strategy and restructuring plans.
- The company is undergoing significant layoffs, with over 500 employees in Oregon affected, as part of a broader effort to streamline operations under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
- Technical indicators suggest a potential reversal in Intel's long-term downtrend, as the stock breaks above key moving averages.
- Investors remain cautious about the effectiveness of Intel's strategic shift and its ability to regain competitiveness in the semiconductor market.
Intel’s stock had a wild session as investors digested news of major layoffs and a new strategic focus in chip manufacturing.
Early Surge Turns Choppy as Investors Assess News
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) experienced erratic trading today, with its share price initially soaring on renewed optimism about the company’s ambitious chip-manufacturing strategy and restructuring plans.
The stock opened with a small gap higher and quickly gained momentum, rising $1.60 from the $22 level into the $23.60s. Investor enthusiasm was clear in the notably elevated trading volume of over 23.8 million shares, well above the stock’s recent averages, signaling strong market interest in Intel’s turnaround story.
Technical Signals Hint at Possible Trend Change
Technically, today’s move brought INTC above its 100-day Simple Moving Average (red), a level closely watched by traders as a bull-market indicator.
INTC Chart Weekly -The 50 SMA Is Support Now
On the weekly chart, the stock also broke decisively above the 50-week SMA (yellow), which has now flipped to act as support—a notable development, as Intel’s share price is testing this area for the first time since March 2024.
These technical signals suggest that Intel’s battered stock may be attempting to reverse its longer-term downtrend, although it remains vulnerable to further volatility given the ongoing challenges.
Strategic Shift Under New CEO Leadership
At the heart of Intel’s moves is a major corporate reorganization. Under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over in April 2025, the company is undertaking aggressive steps to transform itself into a leaner, faster, and more efficient semiconductor powerhouse.
This strategic overhaul includes significant layoffs across Intel’s global operations. Today’s press reports highlighted that over 500 employees in Oregon will be cut, based on filings under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.
Industry sources suggest Intel is looking to reduce its plant workforce by 15–20%, underscoring the scale of the restructuring and the company’s commitment to cost control.
The Core Foundry Strategy – Risks and Hopes
Intel’s foundry strategy is at the center of its comeback plan. After years of falling behind rivals like TSMC, the company has been pouring resources into regaining process leadership and winning back the confidence of both customers and investors.
There’s talk of shifting resources to its 14A process node, a move that might reflect an implicit acknowledgment that the more ambitious 18A node has faced delays that could hurt competitiveness in the coming years.
While this pragmatic shift may improve Intel’s near-term odds of success, investors remain cautious about whether these adjustments will deliver sustained gains or merely highlight how far Intel must go to catch up.
Outlook: Can Momentum Hold?
Today’s volatile trading shows that investors are still weighing the potential long-term benefits of Intel’s strategic changes against short-term financial and operational disruptions.
If the stock can hold above these new technical support levels, momentum traders may see further upside. But given the scale of the restructuring, market participants will be watching carefully for updates on cost savings, production targets, and competitive positioning in the months ahead.
Intel’s turnaround is far from guaranteed, but today’s price action and restructuring plans underscore that the company is finally taking bold steps to reclaim its place at the forefront of the global semiconductor industry.
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
Save