Over the last few years, Intel has faced some serious headwinds, from chip delays and rising competition to leadership shake-ups and strategy shifts. But while the company was fighting to stay competitive, some of its top executives were quietly cashing out large chunks of stock.
These insider sales, reported in SEC Form 4 filings, raised eyebrows across the tech world. Were these just routine transactions under pre-set plans, or signs that even Intel’s leaders had doubts about the company’s future?
In this piece, we look at the most notable stock sales by Intel insiders between 2018 and 2025. We break down when and how much they sold, what was going on at the company at the time, and how the public reacted, especially on Twitter and Reddit.
Because in today’s markets, how things look often matters just as much as what’s actually happening.
TL;DR
- Between 2018 and 2025, multiple Intel insiders sold large chunks of stock right before bad news hit.
- Some trades were linked to security flaws, earnings misses, or government funding wins.
- Intel claimed most sales were routine or pre-planned, but the timing often raised red flags.
- Retail investors on Twitter and Reddit called out the pattern, fueling distrust.
- The issue wasn’t just legality’ it was optics, timing, and broken confidence.
Brian Krzanich: November 2017: CEO Sells Ahead of a Security Bombshell
In June 2018, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned over an internal policy violation related to a past workplace relationship.
But for many investors, the more damaging story had already played out months earlier. Back on November 29, 2017, Krzanich sold roughly $39 million worth of Intel stock, just weeks after the company had been privately informed of two massive CPU security flaws later known as Meltdown and Spectre.
The timing set off alarm bells.
According to SEC filings, the sale brought Krzanich’s holdings down to exactly 250,000 shares, the minimum amount required for Intel’s CEO. It wasn’t until January 2018, after the vulnerabilities were made public, that the transaction came to light. That delay sparked outrage and suspicion among investors and regulators alike.
Intel insisted the sale was pre-scheduled under a 10b5-1 trading plan and unrelated to the security flaws. But that plan had been adopted on October 30, 2017, several months after Intel had learned of the issue. The optics were bad, and lawmakers took notice. A group of U.S. Senators called on the SEC and DOJ to investigate whether Krzanich had profited from nonpublic information.
On Twitter and Reddit, the backlash was swift.
One meme reimagined Intel’s iconic logo as “Intel Inside ® (Trading).”
Even though Intel’s stock only dipped slightly when the Spectre news broke, the reputational damage was far greater. Krzanich’s later resignation, technically over unrelated misconduct, only reinforced the sense that trust had been broken.
For many retail shareholders, it wasn’t just about legality. It was about confidence.
And when the CEO unloads tens of millions in stock while a hidden crisis is brewing, that confidence evaporates fast.
Board Member Dump Ahead of CHIPS Act Vote: Mid 2022
In mid-2022, Intel was lobbying hard for the CHIPS Act, a $52 billion federal package aimed at boosting U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
Intel stood to benefit more than most, and the company made no secret of its push for government support. But just as the legislation was moving toward approval, one Intel board member made a quiet exit from a big stake.
James J. Goetz, a venture capitalist and director on Intel’s board, sold off a significant amount of Intel stock that year. According to filings, he unloaded around 308,996 shares in 2022, worth over $51 million. It was the largest annual sale of his Intel shares since joining the board.
Much of that selling happened in the second half of the year, right around the time Congress passed the CHIPS Act in late July. To retail investors already on edge over Intel’s falling earnings and weak PC demand, the timing didn’t sit well.
The disconnect between public messaging and insider action was hard to ignore. On paper, Intel was positioning the CHIPS Act as a turning point. But to some, Goetz’s move looked like someone cashing out before reality set in.
To be fair, insider sales can have personal or financial reasons, such as diversification, tax planning, or even preset trading plans.
But in 2022, retail investors weren’t in a forgiving mood. After a brutal year for the stock and constant strategic pivots, trust in leadership was already thin. And when board members start cashing in during key moments, that trust frays even further.
Pat Gelsinger: August 2022: After a Brutal Earnings Miss
By mid-2022, Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s returning CEO brought in to lead a turnaround, was facing the toughest quarter of his tenure.
On July 28, 2022, Intel reported disastrous Q2 earnings. Revenue dropped 22% year-over-year, coming in at $15.3 billion, billions short of expectations. Adjusted earnings per share were just $0.29, far below the $0.70 Wall Street had forecast. Gelsinger admitted on the earnings call, “We didn’t execute particularly well.” Intel slashed its full-year revenue outlook by nearly $11 billion. The stock fell 10% in a day.
So when Gelsinger sold a small portion of his Intel shares in the weeks following the Q2 collapse, retail investors noticed. According to an August 2022 Form 4, Gelsinger sold about 6,500 shares at prices between $28 and $29, a routine disposal of vested stock, likely for tax withholding.
Even though the sale was small compared to Gelsinger’s total holdings, it fed into the broader narrative of leadership not having skin in the game. Confidence in the turnaround was already shaky. The timing didn’t help.
To his credit, Gelsinger responded with a public show of support. On August 24, he bought 14,800 shares on the open market at about $33.86 per share, a purchase worth just over $500,000. The move was applauded by some as a good-faith effort to restore trust.
The moment showed just how sensitive retail sentiment had become. Even well-intentioned actions, like insider buys, were met with suspicion when they followed a rough quarter. Gelsinger may have been trying to steady the ship, but for some investors, the damage to confidence had already been done.
Michelle Johnston Holthaus: November 2024: Sale Before Stepping Up
By late 2024, Intel was still struggling. The company had cut its dividend, laid off workers, and fallen behind on key roadmaps.
Rumors were swirling about a leadership shake-up, and sure enough, by December 2024, CEO Pat Gelsinger “retired” under pressure.
Intel’s board began its search for a successor, and in the meantime, tapped long-time executive Michelle “MJ” Johnston Holthaus as interim co-CEO. But just weeks before that announcement, Holthaus made a notable stock sale.
On November 7, 2024, she sold 25,000 Intel shares at about $26 each, pocketing around $650,000. While not massive by executive standards, the timing raised eyebrows. Intel’s stock had recently bounced off its lows, and the sale followed closely behind the company’s Q3 earnings release and just ahead of the leadership change.
Once the CEO transition was announced in December, some investors started connecting the dots. There was also plenty of pushback.
Supporters noted that the sale represented only a portion of her total equity and could have been planned for personal reasons.
But after several rough years and a string of poorly timed insider sales, most retail investors weren’t in a forgiving mood. On forums and social media, the sale fed into a familiar narrative: insiders cashing out while ordinary shareholders held the bag.
Even though Holthaus’s sale was likely routine, the optics were bad, and that’s what stuck. In an environment where trust was already thin, any insider transaction, even by a lesser-known executive, was enough to set off alarm bells.
Final Verdict: Optics Over Legality in the Court of Public Opinion
From 2018 through 2025, one pattern became hard to ignore: Intel insiders often sold stock right before bad news or big company shifts. Some trades, like Brian Krzanich’s $39 million sale just before Spectre and Meltdown became public, were so perfectly timed that they triggered calls for regulatory investigation.
Others, like a board member’s CHIPS Act-era dump or a veteran executive trimming shares ahead of a CEO shake-up, may have been legal, but still looked questionable.
In nearly all cases, the company insisted these sales followed the rules, many were executed under 10b5-1 plans or tied to routine compensation events. And to be fair, most were. But as every seasoned investor knows, in the stock market, perception can matter more than procedure.
Intel’s leadership faced a simple but brutal truth: when your company is missing targets, losing market share, or changing CEOs, any insider sale looks like a lack of confidence. And when executives or board members cash out while telling investors to believe in the turnaround, trust erodes fast.
As Intel tries to rebuild under new leadership, it faces more than technical or competitive challenges. It has a credibility problem. Winning back investor trust will take more than product launches and earnings beats. It will require insiders to stand behind the stock, not just with words, but with action.