Intel Rehashed: What Went Wrong? Maybe The Better Question Is, ‘What Didn’t?’

Summary:

• The announcement that Pat Gelsinger “retired” on Dec. 1 came as a surprise. At first the stock rallied sharply on the news, but it closed in the red on heavier average daily volume.
• The recent CHIPS Act and the government grant of $3 billion, and also the Defense Department contract, still couldn’t kickstart the chip giant and get it moving in the right direction.
• As of the 9/30/24 quarter, Intel had $46.5 billion of long-term debt outstanding, versus $25 billion as of December 2019 and just $2 billion as of June 2011.
• The company needs to find some sustainable revenue growth, and also needs to figure out a way to reduce its capex drag.

The announcement that Pat Gelsinger “retired” on December 1st, 2024 came as a surprise this morning, and at first the stock rallied sharply on the news, but eventually it rolled over with a few hours left in the trading day and closed in