No one ever likes to be told they are not good enough for something. And that was no different for chip stock Intel (INTC), which recently got a pretty hard no out of Qualcomm (QCOM). There was a ray of hope, though, that Intel could improve, and that ultimately left investors concerned. Shares slipped fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Cristiano Amon, current CEO of Qualcomm, noted that Intel’s production output was not yet good enough for Qualcomm to turn to for its mobile phone processor needs. However, Qualcomm was willing to step in and buy from Intel if Intel could improve its manufacturing techniques and make more efficient chips overall.
Amon noted, “Intel is not an option today. We would like Intel to be an option.” Qualcomm also offered some insight on how it designs chips, noting “We design all of our chips assuming there’s a battery on the other side, not plugged into the wall. You have all the computing power and you still get incredible range.” It is unclear if Intel’s 18A or upcoming 14A processes can meet Qualcomm’s needs.
2026 Will Be Huge
Meanwhile, Intel is looking to the future to deliver significant improvements in its chips, potentially enough to get even Qualcomm interested. In fact, Intel is already calling 2026 a “critical” year for manufacturing technology, as it should know in the first half of the year whether it is ready to launch the 14A production method.
However, Intel will only actually build the 14A manufacturing capability if there is sufficient business in line for it. This would be a good time to reach out to Qualcomm again, assuming the 14A process can produce the level of chip quality that Qualcomm needs here.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 25 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 30.28% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $22.34 per share implies 8.41% downside risk.
