Intel Slashes Staff Ahead Of Q1 Earnings, ETFs Brace For Impact

Intel INTC is back in the news—this time, not only for its chips, but for cutting 20% of its staff as part of wider restructuring.

The company is set to release first quarter 2025 earnings after the market closes today. Investors aren’t simply eyeing the balance sheet—they’re listening to hear if Intel’s much-hyped turnaround is finally putting the pedal to the metal.

With Intel's stock already on a rollercoaster—down 43% over the past year, but outperforming the sector in 2024—its next move could be a catalyst not just for the company, but for a cluster of ETFs heavily exposed to its performance. Let's take a look at the key ETFs in the crosshairs and what's at stake.

Also Read: Tesla’s Energy Division Shines, But ETF Risks Mount Amid Broader Challenges

ETFs in Focus

REX FANG & Innovation Equity Premium Income ETF FEPI

Intel Exposure: 6.53%
AUM: $400 million
Strategy: Covered call income from tech volatility
FEPI leans on tech’s top names, including Intel, and looks to turn market jitters into cash flow via options. With Intel as a top-three holding, its earnings move could significantly affect FEPI's performance and income generation potential.

ProShares Nanotechnology ETF TINY

Intel Exposure: 5.4%
AUM: $5.6 million
TINY might have a tiny footprint, but Intel occupies a large portion of its portfolio. This ETF is tuned into cutting-edge, nanoscale technologies—a space where Intel’s shift to AI chips could either set the world ablaze or go up in flames.

Themes Generative Artificial Intelligence ETF WISE

Intel Exposure: 4.8%
AUM: $22.7M
WISE is entirely in on generative AI-related companies, and Intel is attempting to get in on that group. The company’s recent move into processors dedicated to AI may give it a boost in this ETF—if earnings and guidance back the shift.

Intel Inflection Point

Intel’s reported layoffs follow a similar reduction in forces last year, and this latest one, pegged at 20% of employees, demonstrates how seriously newly appointed CEO Lip-Bu Tan wants to overhaul the company.

The CEO has underscored the necessity of rebuilding engineering capabilities, simplifying management, and speeding up innovation in fields such as AI and foundry services.

The stock jumped more than 5% yesterday on the news of job cuts, before settling at a gain of 1.86% by market close. This could be interpreted as Wall Street taking pain today as gain tomorrow.

However, analysts aren’t cheering just yet. Bernstein and Barclays both cut their price targets, citing residual execution risk and stiff competition from AI powerhouses like Nvidia NVDA and AMD AMD.

Chips, Cuts, And Comebacks

Intel’s earnings report will be a referendum on its AI strategy, restructuring plan, and whether Tan can make ambition real. For ETF investors, the result could influence not one name but an entire corner of the market wagering on the future of chips and AI.

So as the earnings bell tolls, three ETFs — FEPI, TINY, and, WISE — will win or lose based on how compellingly Intel makes its comeback tale.

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