Lip-Bu Tan knows the tech world inside out. He has been active in the semiconductor and software industry for more than two decades. In March 2025, the physicist and nuclear engineer may have taken on his most challenging mission yet, as he was appointed CEO of Intel. The Chinese-American manager is tasked with leading the chipmaker out of its current crisis. Intel has fallen behind during a period shaped by technological trends such as 5G, cloud computing, and AI. At the start of the PC era, the company was an innovation leader and made marketing history with the slogan "Intel inside". Today, Intel struggles with stagnating revenues and losses. Even on Wall Street, the company, founded in 1968, has fallen out of favour. While the US stock market surged from one record to the next, Intel dropped in April 2025 to its lowest level in almost 14 years.
Over the summer, the stock staged a recovery. Relative to the previous low, the share price has more than doubled. The rebound is less due to operational progress than to the shareholder structure. In August, the US government acquired almost a tenth of the semiconductor giant, receiving the stake in exchange for investment support. Just a few weeks later, Nvidia stepped in. For USD 5 billion, the world’s largest chipmaker secured roughly 4.4% of its former rival. "The AI revolution has just reached hyper-speed," Intel praises on its website regarding the partnership. The two companies plan to jointly develop processors for PCs and data centres. Analysts also see a political angle for Nvidia. By investing in Intel, the largest US-listed company could be aiming to influence the US government to ease restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductors to China.
The consequences of these recent share transactions are expected to be a key topic when Intel reports its Q3 2025 results tomorrow, Thursday. After the market close in New York, the company will first release its interim report. From 23:00 CET, top management will speak in a conference call with analysts. For the quarter, Intel had projected revenues between USD 12.6 billion and 13.6 billion. The CEO also forecast a gross margin of 36% and a breakeven earnings per share. Based on the midpoint of the revenue range, Intel’s business volume would have slightly declined. However, the outlook assumes significant improvements in profitability and net income. In Q3 2024, the gross margin was 18%, while earnings per share were deep in the red.
Intel is known for its comparatively high volatility. So far this year, its share price has swung more than 50%, compared to roughly 17% for the broad S&P 500 index. Because volatility is a key factor for pricing Softcallable Barrier Reverse Convertibles, Intel’s fluctuations have a direct impact on the latest issuance. In CHF, the BRC pays an annual coupon of 13.00%. In the USD version, the payout is 300 basis points higher. The yield opportunity is partially protected above a barrier set at 59% of the initial level. As long as Intel does not fall to or below this barrier, Leonteq will fully repay the nominal at maturity. If the buffer proves insufficient, the investment is exposed to the full price risk of the underlying. The generous coupon comes with good reason: the pronounced volatility also entails a comparatively high risk of barrier breach. Investors should also note the softcallable feature, which allows early redemption and repayment.
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