TFW @FoolAllTheTime sees the power of the corp governance dark side in Semis land. $INTC https://twitter.com/NonGaap/status/1351926227498528770

For those OOTL on $INTC and what I'm talking about...

There's a concept called "spring loading" equity where a company grants equity and then releases news that positively impacts the stock price

$INTC did a nuanced version of a "spring load" w/ the new CEO hire

Here's how 1/x

When they announced Pat Gelsinger as CEO on Jan 13, they made a very peculiar decision on how to calculate his equity grant.

Instead of calculating it using the fair value on his effective start date on Feb 15, they opted for a 30-day avg preceding Jan 13
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/50863/000119312521009142/d82915d8k.htm

Using a 30d avg allows them to calc shares amount using prices in the low $50s-$40s and shields it from the stock pop of the new CEO announcement

It also shields the grant from an earnings pop...and oh by the way they know Q4 numbers when deciding to structure it this way

So what happens?

$INTC reports a new CEO and earnings which pushes the stock up to $60s, but when Pat Gelsinger starts on Feb 15 his $20M in target shares he'll be granted will be calculated off a ~$50 price.

Welcome to corporate governance "dark arts" https://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-11611263160?siteid=yhoof2

Anyway, if you want to learn more, I have an ongoing "dark arts" series that discusses this stuff.

And yes, you can trade alongside if can identify them

Also, the premium newsletter will cover these kinds of situations in "real time".

(end thread) https://nongaap.substack.com/p/profiting-from-corp-governance-dark