Intel Corporation (INTC) Business Profile

What it does

Intel designs and manufactures semiconductors, the chips used in computers and other electronic systems. Its central processing units, or CPUs, perform general-purpose computing tasks in PCs, servers and other devices. Intel also sells graphics processors, accelerators, networking products and custom chips designed for particular workloads.

The company serves PC makers, cloud service providers and other manufacturers and service providers. Their products reach consumers, businesses, governments and educational organizations. Intel sells directly and through distributors, resellers, retailers and manufacturing partners.

Intel’s products business designs and sells chips for client devices and data centers. Its foundry business develops manufacturing processes and makes chips, both for Intel’s own products and for external customers. Foundry services also include advanced packaging, which connects chips and components within a single package. Nearly all foundry activity supported Intel’s internal manufacturing in 2025, although the company is seeking more external customers.

Intel also consolidates Mobileye, which develops driving-assistance and self-driving systems, and IMS, which makes mask-writing tools used in semiconductor manufacturing. Intel was founded on 1968-07-18 and is headquartered in Santa Clara. Lip-Bu Tan has been chief executive officer since March 2025.

How it makes money

Intel earns most of its revenue by selling processors and related semiconductor products. The Client Computing Group, or CCG, supplies CPUs and platforms for notebooks, desktops and edge devices. Its Intel Core products cover entry-level and mid-level price points, while Core Ultra products serve higher-level price points. Intel also sells commercial versions with additional management and security features, as well as Arc graphics processors.

The Data Center and AI group, or DCAI, sells server CPUs, accelerators, networking products and custom chips to cloud providers and equipment makers. These customers use them in data centers, enterprise systems, telecommunications and high-performance computing. Intel also combines its CPUs with other computing components and software to address different workloads.

Intel Foundry earns revenue from manufacturing, packaging and design services. Most of its business historically has served Intel’s own product groups: in 2025, foundry revenue included $17.5 billion of intersegment revenue and $307 million from external customers. Intersegment revenue is business between Intel units, not a separate sale to an outside customer. The foundry reported an operating loss of $10.3 billion in 2025.

Intel Products revenue was $49.1 billion in 2025; Intel’s total revenue was $16.5 billion in Q3 2026. These are different scopes, rather than comparable annual and quarterly totals.

Revenue depends on product volumes, pricing and the mix of chips sold. Intel has historically seen higher net revenue in the second half of the year, although that pattern was disrupted in 2025. Some long-term customer agreements include volume and pricing commitments, rather than purchases being entirely ad hoc.

Customers and how it sells

Intel’s direct customers include original equipment manufacturers that design and sell PCs and servers, original design manufacturers that provide design and manufacturing services, and cloud service providers. It also sells to industrial and communications equipment manufacturers and other service providers. Their customers range from individual consumers to enterprises, governments and educational institutions.

Customer concentration is material. In FY2025, Dell Inc. accounted for 19.0% of revenue, Lenovo Group Limited for 12.0%, and HP Inc. for 12.0%. Intel’s three largest customers together represented 43.0% of revenue in that year.

The company uses its global sales organization for direct sales and also reaches buyers through distributors, resellers, retailers and original equipment manufacturer partners. Its worldwide reseller channel includes thousands of systems builders that purchase Intel processors and other products from distributors. Some products are also sold through retail outlets.

Intel’s products are used globally, and many of its manufacturing, assembly and test facilities are in the United States. The company also has operations in other countries, including an advanced fabrication facility and product development centers in Israel. It has been consolidating assembly and test operations in Costa Rica into existing sites in Vietnam and Malaysia.

Suppliers and costs

Intel manufactures many of its products in its own facilities, while also using third-party foundries and component suppliers. For example, Intel Core Ultra Series 2 manufacturing is performed either by Intel Foundry or by an external foundry, depending on the version. The company also relies on equipment, substrates and other components to manufacture and package chips.

Developing advanced manufacturing processes and building or upgrading factories require substantial capital. Intel says its advanced processes need manufacturing volumes beyond those expected from its own products to achieve economic efficiency. Costs also change with product mix: newer-generation products contributed to higher client and server unit costs in 2025.

Intel has adjusted its manufacturing footprint to align capacity with demand. It slowed construction of its Ohio fabrication facility and discontinued planned expansions in Germany and Poland. In Q3 2026, Intel said it was adding manufacturing and packaging capacity, while an industry-wide shortage of advanced substrates was limiting its ability to scale output. It expected capital expenditure and component purchase commitments to increase over the next several quarters.

Competitive position

In PC processors, Intel’s primary competitor is AMD, which also designs chips using the x86 architecture. Intel also faces competition from companies designing processors based on the ARM architecture, including Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek.

In data centers, AMD competes across CPUs, graphics processors and accelerators. NVIDIA competes with GPU systems used for AI workloads, while cloud providers including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft develop their own custom chips. Intel also competes with Broadcom in custom chip development.

In manufacturing services, Intel’s primary advanced-process competitor is TSMC, and it also competes with Samsung. GlobalFoundries, UMC and SMIC compete mainly in more mature manufacturing processes.

Intel’s x86 products are supported by an established ecosystem of compatible software, tools and applications. Our reading: this ecosystem is a meaningful competitive asset because customers and developers have built around it, although AMD also offers x86 processors and alternative architectures compete in PCs and data centers.

Intel also combines chip design with manufacturing and advanced packaging, including U.S.-based advanced logic research and production. Our reading: those capabilities can differentiate its offering, but the manufacturing advantage is constrained by the capital and volume required to operate advanced processes and by the foundry’s limited external customer base.

Growth opportunities

Intel is pursuing growth in data center CPUs, custom chips, graphics processors and manufacturing services for external customers. Its strategy includes adapting its x86 products for AI workloads and developing purpose-built chips for customers whose computing needs differ from general-purpose CPU workloads.

Intel’s Clearwater Forest server product, manufactured on its Intel 18A process, was shipping for revenue in Q3 2026. The company also introduced the Intel GPU D-Series for memory-intensive AI inference. Intel expects demand for its data center and AI products to remain strong, although it says demand continues to exceed available supply.

In client computing, Intel is developing processors for AI-enabled PCs and edge devices. It expects the PC market to remain under pressure until memory availability improves and prices normalize. Intel expects the 2026 PC unit market to decline approximately 12% and plans for a roughly 10% decline in 2027.

The company is also seeking customers for its external foundry and advanced packaging services. Intel says it is engaged with strategic customers on Intel 18AP and has made progress with potential Intel 14A customers. In October 2026, it released a process design kit for Intel 14A to select customers, giving them tools to prepare designs for the process.

Intel estimates that the server CPU market, largely driven by agentic workloads, could increase from $40 billion to more than $200 billion over five years. This is the company’s estimate, not a forecast of Intel revenue.

Structural risks

• Foundry economics and execution: Intel has limited experience serving external foundry customers, and advanced processes require substantial investment and manufacturing volume. The foundry reported an operating loss of $10.3 billion in 2025. Intel said it may pause or discontinue Intel 14A and successor processes if it cannot secure a significant external customer.
• Supply constraints: Intel says demand for data center and AI products exceeds available supply. Limited Intel 3 capacity and advanced substrate availability constrain its ability to increase output. An accident also caused an extended shutdown at its Israel factory, affecting server shipments.
• PC demand: Customers have signaled a PC slowdown linked to memory prices and availability. Intel expects weakness to persist until memory supply and pricing normalize, and PC makers have been adjusting inventories.
• Competition and technology shifts: Intel faces competition in PC and server CPUs, AI accelerators and foundry services. Data center customers have prioritized competitors’ GPU systems for compute-heavy generative AI workloads, sometimes at the expense of CPU investment.
• Customer and geopolitical exposure: Its three largest customers represented 43.0% of FY2025 revenue. Trade restrictions, tariffs, geopolitical tensions, disruptions at suppliers and long lead times to qualify alternatives can affect costs, production or sales.

Bottom line

Our reading

Intel combines a processor business with a capital-intensive manufacturing operation that it is trying to open to more outside customers. Its x86 software ecosystem and manufacturing capabilities support its position, but advanced-process economics depend on sufficient volume.

The business is exposed to competing pressures: data center demand exceeds available supply, while memory shortages are weakening PC demand. The foundry’s external customer growth and ability to reduce losses are important to the investment case for its manufacturing strategy.