Kaushik
Equity Research Writer for Wiseman Capital
Intel looks priced for too much good news before it has actually delivered on anything. Its CPU story was carrying the share price. x.com
Intel's solid miss fits a longstanding negative view of the stock. ZeroHedge reported fourth-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $0.25 versus $0.45 expected and revenue guidance of $15 billion to $16 billion versus $17.29 billion expected. x.com
Intel's data-center and foundry growth could outlast its PC-driven weak guidance. Data-center revenue rose 78% to $7.3bn and foundry revenue rose 58%, but PCs still account for about half the business and management expects their slowdown through at least the first half of next year. Q4 revenue and margin guidance disappointed, and $0.17 of quarterly EPS came from a mark-to-market gain. The selloff prices in the PC problem, not the turnaround. Overweight; $130 target. x.com x.com
Intel's lack of real AI or foundry plans is showing in weak Q4 guidance. It forecasts $15 billion to $16 billion of revenue versus $17.08 billion consensus and non-GAAP EPS of $0.25 versus $0.44, despite Q3 EPS of $0.52 and revenue of $16.51 billion beating expectations. x.com
Intel looks expensive even against sales despite its earlier revenue recovery: at 10x sales versus roughly 5x for chipmakers, the screen puts fair value at $40.45-$51.48 against $104.70. This adds a sales-based valuation warning to the prior earnings concern; it is a levels-only comparison using reported figures, not fundamental diligence. x.com
AMD and Intel look expensive only if agentic AI fails to accelerate CPU demand, and sell-side estimates probably do not yet capture all of that acceleration. AMD trades at 58x and Intel at 68x NTM EPS, with the sell side modeling EPS CAGRs through CY2029 of 66% and 82%. Beating CY2029 estimates of $31.50 and $4.75 by 30-40% would lift those CAGRs to about 78% and 97%. Despite frothy multiples, that EPS growth is hard to argue with. x.com
Intel's high valuation is hard to justify while its foundry turnaround remains unproven. At about 59x forward earnings, nearly three times TSMC's 19x, Intel has slower projected revenue growth; its foundry lost $2.09 billion in Q2 2026, while TSMC's Q3 operating margin was 58.7%. A politician's stock purchase alone does not make Intel a buy. x.com x.com
Intel may now be too expensive after going from the worst semiconductor play to one of the best in under a year, as an expected return to profitability came with a multiple rerating on top. With earnings still compressed, a three-year forward view fits better, and on that basis a 2028 P/E of 50, cited in a post the author replies to, is too high. x.com x.com x.com
Intel at $112 is an opportunity not to miss, with a $150-plus target by year end, after earlier chances in Micron, Nokia and Arm. It holds $98 billion of backlog orders for 2027-2031, reports 180% annual revenue growth and has $3 billion of cash reserves. x.com
Intel looks absurdly valued at more than $500B in market cap against only about $10B of run-rate EBIT. x.com