Intel sinks 6% as German fab problems arise

Intel stock dipped over 6% on Thursday after the market grew even more pessimistic over the chip giant’s plans for a new factory in Magdeburg, Germany. INTC shares shed 6.1% to close at $20.10 per share.

Intel’s slump helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average lose 0.43% on the day, though other indices fared much worse. The S&P 500 lost 0.89%, while the NASDAQ compressed 1.67%.

Traders seem a wee bit anxious ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. The Chair is expected to provide concrete evidence of the central bank’s game plan for cutting interest rates at the final three FOMC meetings left this year.

Intel stock news

Intel stock has been facing the wrath of shareholders all year after cutting its dividend in an attempt to re-enter the third-party chip fabrication end of the business. As part of CEO Pat Gelsinger’s turnaround plan, Intel has been set to receive $11 billion in subsidies to cover construction costs on two new fabs outside Magdeburg. The German subsidy was slated to cover about one-third of Intel’s capex on the project.

However, a story in Fortune magazine went live on Thursday that threw the entire project into doubt. Intel is in the midst of a hefty cost-cutting strategy, and observers think the Germany plan might be scrapped.

Originally, Intel’s German production operation was scheduled to be up and running in 2027, but now that timeline appears too rosy to insiders.

Additionally, Intel’s primary competitor in third-party fabrication, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), simultaneously announced that the European Union would foot the bill for half of its costs on a separate new factory on the continent.

What’s more, Intel board member Lip-Bu Tan, the former CEO of Cadence Design Systems, chose this moment to leave the board. Many are taking this as yet another sign of weakness at the once great Intel. The company recently announced that it is reducing its workforce by 15%.

 

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Intel stock chart

Intel stock is now trading at a level it last touched in 2012. Undoubtedly, this is one of the worst periods for the stock this century.

The monthly chart below that INTC has long-term support further down at $19.20. This area provided plenty of support during the year and a half between April 2011 and November 2012.

Intel stock won’t be out of the grinder until it first overtakes the $24.90 prior support and then rises above the psychological $30.00 level.

INTC monthly stock chart

Source: https://www.fxstreet.com/news/intel-sinks-6-as-germany-factory-investment-becomes-less-certain-202408230528