Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room: Intel is finally making money again.
After nearly two years of red ink, the tech giant just posted a profit for Q3 2025. Cue the confetti, right? Well, not so fast. Dig into the latest Intel earnings report and the subsequent earnings call, and you’ll find a story that’s far more complicated—and frankly, more fascinating—than a simple comeback tale.
We’re standing at the edge of what could be the biggest PC boom since the pandemic. With Windows 10 heading for the grave, millions of users and businesses are about to need new hardware. It’s a golden opportunity. But instead of going all-in on CPUs, Intel is making a huge, strategic pivot. And it’s leaving a lot of us to wonder: is their AI strategy a visionary move, or are they missing the main event?
The Good News: A Lifeline and a Profit
Let’s start with what’s boosting Intel stock right now. That profit didn't come from a sudden, massive surge in chip sales. It was fueled by those multi-billion dollar lifelines from the U.S. government, Softbank, and a recent $5 billion deal with Nvidia.
The market liked what it saw, and the Intel stock price has reacted positively. It’s a welcome breather for a company that’s been through the wringer, including those ongoing Intel layoffs aimed at cutting costs. For the first time in a while, there’s a sense of stability.
The Plot Twist: The PC Boom Is Coming… And Intel Might Not Be Ready
Here’s where it gets tricky. On the call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan and CFO David Zinsner basically admitted they’re facing supply shortages. Let that sink in.
The biggest wave of PC demand in years is about to hit, and the company that dominated the PC era for decades doesn’t have enough chips to supply it all. They’re constrained, particularly on their older manufacturing nodes. So while the PC boom should be a slam dunk for Intel, they might have to leave money on the table for rivals like AMD to scoop up.
The Grand Strategy: AI is the New King
So, if they’re supply-constrained for the PC boom, where are they focusing? The answer is the core of the new Intel AI strategy.
Intel isn't just putting a few AI features in its chips. It's betting the farm. The company is prioritizing the production of its own dedicated AI GPUs and aggressively pushing its Intel Foundry business to manufacture AI processors for other companies. The partnership with Nvidia is a key part of this—it’s a huge validation of their manufacturing tech.
The bottom line: Intel’s leadership believes the long-term payoff of dominating the AI silicon market is worth the short-term pain of potentially missing out on some PC sales.
The Verge: A Calculated Risk or a Fatal Mistake?
This is the billion-dollar question for anyone watching Intel stock and the broader tech landscape.
The Bull Case: Intel is making the tough, correct choice. The PC market is cyclical, but AI is the future. By securing massive funding and pivoting hard to foundry and AI, they’re positioning themselves for the next decade, not just the next quarter.
The Bear Case: This is a huge risk. You don't get many chances at a industry-wide refresh cycle. Ceding ground now could permanently erode their market share in their core business, and there's no guarantee they can out-innovate Nvidia and AMD in the brutal AI chip race.
What do you think? Is Intel’s AI strategy a masterstroke, or are they fumbling a once-in-a-generation opportunity? Let me know your take in the comments.
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