GraniteShares 2x Long INTC Daily ETF (INTW) Rises +80% as Intel Shares Advance

Key Takeaways

• INTW is a leveraged, single-stock exchange-traded fund (ETF) that seeks to deliver twice the daily return of Intel common stock, and it has surged roughly 80% over the past 30 days.
• The move reflects a sharp rally in Intel shares, amplified by the fund's 2x daily-reset structure.
• Despite the recent gain, the fund remains down about 36% over the trailing three months after a steep June-to-July drawdown.
• Primary catalysts include surging AI-driven central processing unit (CPU) demand, adoption of Meta's Muse AI agent, a series of analyst upgrades, and reported SK Hynix manufacturing talks.
• As a daily-reset leveraged product, INTW carries elevated volatility and compounding risk that makes it unsuitable for long-term, buy-and-hold positions.

Understanding the INTW ETF and Its Single-Stock Exposure

The GraniteShares 2x Long INTC Daily ETF is an actively managed fund that seeks daily investment results equal to 200% of the daily percentage change in the common stock of Intel Corporation. Rather than assembling a diversified basket, the fund concentrates its entire exposure on a single underlying security, using swap agreements and collateral to approximate twice Intel's daily move before fees and expenses. The fund carries an expense ratio of approximately 1.50% and had assets under management (AUM) of roughly $300 million, with substantial daily trading volume relative to its size. It began trading in early 2025.

Because INTW holds no broad portfolio of its own, its sector allocation is effectively 100% tied to the semiconductor industry through Intel. This concentration means the fund's performance is driven almost entirely by a single company's stock, with leverage magnifying both gains and losses. The structure helps explain the extreme recent swing: a strong Intel rally translates into an even larger move in the ETF, while any pullback is similarly amplified. I also checked this using Tickeron’s AI Screener to see how the fund compares to others in the industry.

INTW Price Performance Over the Past 30 Days and Quarter

Over the past 30 days, INTW has climbed approximately 80%, rising from around $18.73 to about $33.65. This gain closely tracks Intel's own roughly 38% advance over the same window, with the fund's 2x daily-reset leverage compounding the underlying move. The rise has been trend-driven but punctuated by notable single-session swings, consistent with a leveraged vehicle amplifying a momentum move in the underlying stock.

The picture over the trailing three months is starkly different. Roughly 90 days ago, INTW traded near $52, meaning the fund is still down approximately 36% over the quarter despite the recent surge. The pattern is best described as a deep V-shaped correction: a sharp sell-off through June and July, followed by a powerful recovery into September. The volatility underscores both the momentum now supporting the fund and the speed with which leveraged exposure can reverse. From what I see, daily-reset products like this one require close monitoring of short-term swings.

Catalysts Behind the Recent 30-Day Surge in INTW

The fund's 30-day surge is almost entirely a story about Intel's turnaround gaining momentum. The strongest catalyst was a broad re-rating of CPU demand tied to the rise of AI agents. The launch and rapid adoption of Meta's Muse AI agent refocused investor attention on server CPUs, which are required to run agentic workflows, and Intel's management indicated it can currently satisfy only about half of customer CPU orders. This supply-demand imbalance supported expectations for higher volumes and a reported 10% increase in some CPU prices.

Supportive fundamental results reinforced the move. Intel reported a 25% year-over-year revenue increase in its most recent quarter, with Data Center and AI revenue up roughly 59% and its foundry segment growing about 31%. Wall Street responded with a series of upgrades and higher price targets, and reports that SK Hynix is exploring memory-manufacturing arrangements at Intel's Ohio facility added further momentum. Falling oil prices and easing Treasury yields also provided a favorable backdrop for growth-oriented technology shares. Each of these factors, when amplified through 2x daily leverage, translated into outsized gains for INTW.

Factors Behind INTW's Performance Over the Trailing Quarter

Over the trailing three months, INTW's overall decline reflects a period of pronounced sector turbulence rather than a single event. In June and July, semiconductor shares sold off as investors weighed concerns about the durability of AI infrastructure spending, rising interest rates, and a Federal Reserve policy stance that pressured rate-sensitive data-center investment. Intel, already volatile amid its costly foundry buildout, fell sharply during this stretch, and INTW's leveraged structure compounded the downside.

The subsequent recovery into September was driven by a broader rotation back into AI and compute infrastructure names. Confidence in agentic AI demand revived enthusiasm for CPU makers, and Intel's improving fundamentals provided a specific reason for capital to return. The quarter-to-date trajectory therefore illustrates how leveraged single-stock ETFs can remain negative over longer horizons even while posting dramatic short-term gains, because daily-reset compounding does not preserve proportional multi-day returns.

Key Factors to Monitor for INTW Going Forward

Because INTW is a daily-reset leveraged product tied to a single company, its outlook is inseparable from Intel's execution and the broader semiconductor cycle. Key factors to monitor include the pace of AI-agent adoption and its effect on server CPU demand, Intel's progress ramping its advanced manufacturing processes, and whether early-stage foundry discussions such as the potential SK Hynix arrangement convert into signed agreements with named customers. External foundry revenue conversion remains a central variable in Intel's investment case.

Macroeconomic conditions also matter. Data-center construction is sensitive to interest rates, so the Federal Reserve's policy path and any shift in inflation expectations could influence sector sentiment. Investors should also watch for signs of profit-taking after the rapid rally, given Intel's elevated forward valuation, and should remain mindful that daily-reset leverage can erode returns during choppy or range-bound periods even when the underlying security is flat or modestly higher. No single catalyst guarantees a continuation of recent momentum, and both the turnaround thesis and the leveraged structure carry meaningful risks. I'm watching this closely as the semiconductor cycle evolves.

Refining ETF Research with AI Tools

In my own analysis, Tickeron’s AI Screener has become a useful part of the workflow for quickly comparing leveraged products like INTW against their underlying holdings. It lets me apply technical indicators, fundamentals, and performance filters across thousands of securities at once, which helps surface patterns that might otherwise take longer to identify manually. The platform has proven especially practical when tracking momentum in concentrated sectors such as semiconductors.

Disclaimer

The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.

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Contributor

Jimmy Landsman|Expert

My name is Jimmy, and I’m a financial analyst focused on identifying compelling opportunities across the ETF market. Each day, I analyze hundreds of ETFs to uncover potential trading and investment opportunities using a broad range of market factors. For short-term trading, I rely heavily on technical analysis, including price channels, momentum indicators, support and resistance levels, trend patterns, and other market signals. At the same time, I dedicate significant attention to evaluating ETFs from a long-term investment perspective. My objective is to build a well-balanced ETF portfolio that combines core investment holdings with more tactical and speculative positions. The goal is to create a portfolio that can participate effectively in market rallies while also remaining resilient during periods of volatility and market corrections.

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