NEW YORK, Aug. 25 -- The number in most accounts of Intel's equity raise is $20 billion. The number in Intel's own filing is larger, because the underwriters took everything they were offered.

Intel agreed on August 10 to sell 210,526,315 shares at $95.00. The banks running the deal also held a 30-day option over a further 31,578,947 shares. They exercised it in full the following day. That is 242,105,262 shares and gross proceeds of $23.0 billion, one of the largest equity raises an American technology company has ever completed.

Twelve trading days later, Intel trades at $87.78.

Everyone who bought that stock is under water. The block issued at $95 is worth roughly $21.25 billion at Monday's price against the $23.0 billion paid for i...