There was good news today for chip stock Intel (INTC), as early reviews came out about the Core Ultra 3 205 processor. In fact, reports noted, it performed at a level that meant it “…surpasses previous-gen Core i3-14100 and Core i5-14400.” That should have been better news, especially considering how shareholders responded today. Intel shares were down over 2% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The Core Ultra 3 205 is currently one of Intel’s more “entry-level” processors, reports note. While it is not yet available for purchase, early word suggests that this entry-level piece may be anything but bargain-basement, on par with some of the better chips of today’s line. The Core Ultra 3 205 uses four P-cores and four E-cores together to get clock speeds in a range between 4.4 GHz and 4.9 GHz.
The early word also called out the Core Ultra 3 205’s ability to provide “…good performance for everyday computing,” with a solid ability to “…handle multiple browser tabs as well as 8K YouTube videos at low CPU usage.” Though the early reviews pointed out that counting on Intel’s stock heatsink will probably be a bad idea here, suggesting that a third-party CPU cooler would be a worthwhile add-on.
The Absent Guest
That is when something particularly unexpected happened, as the first customers of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s (TSM) two-nanometer N2 foundry node emerged. There were several familiar and major names on that list…but the one biggest absence was Intel itself.
Intel currently turns to TSMC three-nanometer nodes, particularly the N3B, reports note. That node produces Intel’s server and client processors alike, but Intel has no orders for the N2 node coming up. Rather, reports suggest, Intel will be turning to its own 18A node, using both RibbonFET and PowerVia technologies to put together its server and client hardware. Intel publicly announced such plans back in August 2024, but the fact that Intel is not on TSMC’s lists lends a sort of confirmation to the plan.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 24 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 21.67% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $22.17 per share implies 10.5% downside risk.
