👉 Breaking Down Intel (INTC)

Happy Friday.

Before you go off and enjoy your weekend — we wanted to share a comprehensive breakdown of one of the most talked-about stocks of the past quarter.

Let’s talk Intel (INTC)!

As a reminder, this specific deep-dive is written by the GRIT team and is not the exclusive work of Head Analyst Austin Hankwitz.

Stock Deep Dive: Intel Corp. (INTC-US, $174B MCAP)

The US government is making unprecedented moves in order to protect areas of national security.

Historically, this company has struggled to make the right bets in the right area after being one of the most innovative companies in the early days.

Now — new life (and new management) is setting the stage for a comeback.

As geopolitical tensions rise over certain monopolistic parts of the semiconductor supply chain, the government is taking equity in this strategically important company.

Can a capital injection restore this once-dominant giant back to former glory?

Lets dig in!

• Why now? 👉 The National Security Importance of Foundry

• Overview 👉 What Does Intel Do?

• Role in Ecosystem 👉 How they Fit into the Stack

• How Do They Win? 👉 Value Proposition

• Business Units 👉 Segment Breakdown

• How Do They Make Money? 👉 Revenue Model

• By The Numbers 👉 Key Metrics

• Competition and Outlook 👉 Battling AMD, Nvidia, and TSMC

• Risks 👉 Potential Pitfalls

Why now? 👉 The National Security Importance of Foundry

Intel stands at the center of an unprecedented public-private effort to bolster U.S. chipmaking might. The U.S. government has agreed to invest $8.9B for a 9.9% stake in Intel, a historic move underscoring Intel’s critical role in national security. This follows SoftBank’s recent $2 billion equity injection (about a 2% stake at $23 per share). Such backing comes as Intel’s stock attempts a comeback. Shares have risen ~26% year-to-date after collapsing nearly 60% in 2024. With its market value near $110 billion (still over 60% below its late-1990s peak), Intel is widely seen as a linchpin in the “global artificial intelligence arms race” and the only U.S.-based contender for leading-edge chip fabrication.

Washington’s message is clear: a robust domestic semiconductor supply is now a strategic priority, and Intel’s success is viewed as integral to U.S. economic and military security. In response, Intel is pivoting aggressively, doubling down on advanced foundry services and next-generation chips, to justify this vote of confidence and execute on a turnaround that could reshape the tech landscape.

Overview 👉 What Does Intel Do?

Intel is one of the world’s largest and most storied semiconductor companies, famed for its microprocessors that power the majority of personal computers and data centers. Founded in 1968 by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, Intel helped invent the modern CPU and for decades enjoyed near-monopoly status in PC processors (the “Intel Inside” era). Today, Intel designs and manufactures chips ranging from client PC processors (Core i5, i7, etc.) to server CPUs (Xeon for cloud and enterprise), and beyond. Its silicon runs billions of devices worldwide (laptops, desktops, servers, networking gear) making Intel the backbone of computing infrastructure. Unlike most rivals, Intel is an integrated device manufacturer (IDM), meaning it both designs its chips and fabricates them in-house at its own semiconductor fabs. This vertical integration historically gave Intel tight control over its product performance and supply chain.

In recent years, Intel has expanded into new domains. It produces autonomous driving systems through its Mobileye subsidiary (acquired in 2017), sells programmable chips (FPGAs) via its Programmable Solutions Group (from its Altera acquisition), and is venturing into graphics processors and AI accelerators to challenge Nvidia.

Intel’s business model remains centered on selling high-performance silicon to device makers and cloud providers. Intel’s mission is to create the advanced chips (“the brains”) that enable computing and connectivity in virtually every industry. Now it is also aiming to manufacture chips for others, which is a major strategic shift we’ll explore shortly.

Role in Ecosystem 👉 How they Fit into the Stack

In the technology ecosystem, Intel’s role is foundational: it provides the core processing engines at the heart of computers and gadgets. At the base of the tech “stack” are semiconductor chips executing software instructions. Intel’s CPUs and chipsets underpin countless systems, from consumer laptops to corporate data centers to industrial edge devices. For decades, Intel and Microsoft formed the “Wintel” platform dominating PCs, while Xeon processors became the default in servers, powering websites, cloud workloads, and AI training. This entrenched role has meant software and hardware are long optimized for Intel architectures.

Intel is among the few firms with leading capabilities in both chip design and advanced fabrication. Most peers, like AMD and Nvidia, are fabless and rely on foundries such as TSMC. Intel, however, owns U.S. fabs and a global plant network, giving it end-to-end supply chain presence. That makes it a strategic anchor: it supplies chips while retaining scarce manufacturing know-how, much of which is now concentrated in Asia. Intel’s new foundry model aims to challenge TSMC (with ~58% market share) by building chips for others, positioning its domestic fabs as a geopolitically secure alternative. Intel sits at the base of the stack, enabling higher layers to function. With its foundry push, it seeks to become the U.S. sphere’s go-to chip manufacturer.

How Do They Win? 👉 Value Proposition

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