Company diagnostic
Semiconductors
INTC
Intel
Intel Foundry lost $10.3B while Intel Products earned $12.7B; gross margin of 34.8% trails the 53.1% semiconductor median, an observed gap of $7.9B.
Why now
In the news
Intel reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.5 billion on October 29, 2026, up 21%, with Intel Foundry revenue up 58% to $6.7 billion and a foundry operating loss of $1.85 billion, per the company's results release.
Business health score
38
Out of 100
Addressable estimate
$3,171.2M addressable estimate (observed gap $7,928M)
Revenue
$52,853M (FY2025)
Operating margin
-4.2% (-3.3% excluding the $494M impairment)
As reported
Filing
Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (year ended December 27, 2025)
Run
November 10, 2026
Processing
8
minutes
Output
35
-page PDF and Excel model
Data quality
90
Point-in-time analysis from the filing and run date shown. The news context reflects reporting available on that date, and this page is not updated as events move on.
Score by dimension
Financial health
15
Growth potential
Strategic readiness
Market position
Innovation and digital
Operational efficiency
65
First 100-day action
Run a zero-based review of Intel Foundry economics, covering per-wafer manufacturing cost, yield by process node and the external customer pipeline.
How it compares
- Revenue growth: -0.5% vs peer median 15.3% (Well behind median)
- Gross margin: 34.8% vs peer median 53.1% (Well behind median)
- Operating margin: -4.2% vs peer median 21.1% (Well behind median)
- EBITDA margin: 18% vs peer median 29.8% (Well behind median)
- Net margin: -0.5% vs peer median 16.5% (Well behind median)
- SG&A, % of revenue: 8.7% vs peer median 10.2% (Better than median)
- R&D, % of revenue: 26.1% vs peer median 18.2% (Top quartile)
- Return on assets: -0.1% vs peer median 8.2% (Well behind median)
- Debt to equity: 0.41x vs peer median 0.35x (Behind median)
- Asset turnover: 0.25x vs peer median 0.47x (Well behind median)
- Inventory turnover: 2.97x vs peer median 2.63x (Better than median)
- Days inventory outstanding: 123 days vs peer median 139 days (Better than median)
- Days payable outstanding: 104.6 days vs peer median 46 days (Top quartile)
Top three levers
Lever 1
Intel Foundry yield optimization and cost alignment
Why this lever
Gross margin of 34.8% trails the 53.1% semiconductor median by 18.3 points, an observed gap of $7,928M. The report ties it to Intel Foundry's $10.3B operating loss on $17.8B of segment revenue, fixed manufacturing overhead, node-transition costs and $11.7B of depreciation, and treats 40% of the gap as addressable, an estimate to be tested.
Size
$3,171.2M
Observed gap $7,928M
Lever 2
Capital asset efficiency and fab joint-venture structuring
Why this lever
Asset turnover of 0.25x trails the 0.47x median, with capital expenditure of $14.6B, 27.7% of revenue, on $211.4B of total assets. The report points to joint-venture structures for fab capacity and to aligning expansion with committed customers, and does not size the lever.
Size
Directional
Not sized in the report
Lever 3
R&D productivity and portfolio optimization
Why this lever
R&D of $13.8B is 26.1% of revenue against an 18.2% median, while revenue fell 0.5% against a 15.3% median. The report points to reallocating R&D toward server CPUs and AI accelerators, and does not size the lever.
Size
Directional
Not sized in the report
Questions for management
- What are the specific 18A process node yield rates and cost-per-wafer targets for 2027, and how do they compare to TSMC's 3nm equivalent? What customer design wins are committed or in advanced discussions for 18A production ramps?
- How does Intel plan to defend server CPU market share against AMD and emerging Arm-based alternatives? What is the revenue and gross margin trajectory for Xeon server CPUs over the next 3 years?
- What is the addressable market opportunity for Gaudi accelerators, and what is the realistic market share target by 2027? How will Intel overcome NVIDIA's CUDA ecosystem lock-in and hyperscaler relationships?
Summary
Intel closed fiscal 2025 with revenue of $52,853M, down 0.5%, and an operating loss of $2.2B, a -4.2% margin. The two segments tell different stories: Intel Foundry lost $10.3B on $17.8B of revenue, while Intel Products earned $12.7B of operating income on $49.1B. Capital expenditure of $14.6B left free cash flow at -$4,949M.
The net loss narrowed from $18,756M in FY2024 to $267M. The improvement came from outside operations: a $5,553M gain on the Altera divestiture is in non-operating income, while operations still lost money. Against North American semiconductor peers, gross margin of 34.8% trails the 53.1% median, an observed gap of $7,928M, of which the report treats $3,171.2M as addressable and labels the share an estimate. R&D intensity and payables are top quartile.
The balance sheet is less stretched than gross debt suggests. Total debt of $46,585M is offset by $14,265M of cash and $23,151M of short-term investments, so net debt to EBITDA is about 1.0x. The first 100-day move is a zero-based review of foundry economics, and the questions for management cover 18A yields and customer wins, server CPU share and the AI accelerator plan.
What this report does not cover
Four of six health dimensions are not rated, because fewer than two benchmarked metrics were available for each. Intel sells receivables on a non-recourse basis, so DSO is not benchmarked. The $494M impairment has no company-adjusted operating figure, so margins are scored on the reported basis with the figure excluding the impairment shown beside them. Third-quarter 2026 results come from the company's release and are not reflected in the FY2025 figures.
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