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These days, it’s pretty easy to predict where Intel’s stock price will go: The stock loses on an otherwise positive day, and it loses on a generally negative day. That chronic underperformance, which has seen Intel’s stock price fall about 60 percent so far this year, will now likely deprive the stock of a key source of passive inflows: the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
Reuters is now reporting that Intel will likely be removed from the Dow Jones index. Keep in mind that the DJIA is rebalanced quarterly, with stocks systematically added or removed from the market-cap-weighted index based on extensive criteria.
Such an exclusion would, of course, be particularly ignominious for Intel, which, along with Microsoft, was one of only two technology stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s. Intel’s exclusion from the index would deprive the stock of an important source of passive financing that a blue-chip index constituent normally receives, potentially leading to further losses.
This development comes as Intel prepares to unveil a broad turnaround plan at its next board meeting. As we recently reported, the chipmaker is reportedly planning to sell its majority stake in its FPGA arm Altera and impose a freeze on construction at its $30 billion factory in Germany.
However, as part of the comprehensive reforms, the crisis-hit company is unlikely to sell its chip manufacturing division, formerly known as Intel Foundry.
Intel is reportedly working with a number of financial advisers, including Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley, to develop strategic options for the upcoming board meeting. These advisers are also believed to be helping Intel fend off an alleged attack from activist investors.
To save money, Intel cut its dividends and laid off 13.6 percent of its workforce of about 110,000 employees earlier this year. The company also cut its capital spending for 2025 by 17 percent to just $21.5 billion.
At the time of writing, Intel shares are down about 6 percent in regular trading. The company’s market capitalization is now just $89.30 billion.
