Is It Too Late for Intel to Strike Back Against AMD?

Core Insights - Intel's first-quarter earnings report showed flat revenue year over year at $12.7 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates by $390 million, but adjusted EPS fell 28% to $0.13, despite beating consensus forecasts by $0.13 [1][2] - For the second quarter, Intel expects revenue to decline between 3% to 13% year over year, with an adjusted EPS of zero, missing the consensus forecast of $0.07 [2][4] - Intel's market share in the x86 CPU market has significantly declined from 82.5% in Q3 2016 to 58.2% in Q2 2025, while AMD's share increased from 17.5% to 40.3% during the same period [4][5] Company Performance - Intel's annual revenue decreased from $55.87 billion in 2014 to $54.23 billion in 2024, while its stock price fell 34% over the past decade, contrasting with the S&P 500's 160% increase [7] - AMD's stock surged 3,950% during the same period, driven by strategic leadership and engineering improvements [7] Strategic Direction - New CEO Lip-Bu Tan plans to enhance engineering capabilities, develop CPUs with integrated AI features, and expand the foundry business, dismissing rumors of selling its foundries or becoming a fabless chipmaker [8][9] - Intel aims to streamline operations and divest noncore assets, including the programmable chipmaker Altera, while ramping up its 18A process node for the Panther Lake CPU launch in late 2025 [9][10] Challenges Ahead - Intel's near-term outlook remains bleak, with expectations that new chips will not significantly boost revenue or profits [10] - The company plans to lay off around 20% of its staff to cut costs and is outsourcing some production to TSMC, raising concerns about its ability to recover [10][11] - Intel faces additional challenges from tariffs, export curbs, and competition from TSMC, complicating its recovery efforts against AMD [12] Competitive Landscape - Intel's losses in mobile, discrete GPU, and core CPU markets highlight deep-rooted issues, contrasting with AMD's consistent leadership under a single CEO [13] - Despite potential optimism from contrarian investors regarding Tan's leadership, there are currently no signs of recovery for Intel against AMD in the x86 CPU market [14]