Why I'm bullish on Intel (INTC)

I know after recent CEO firings, sentiment is low right now. But usually the best bargains are when investors are fearful. Not financial advice.

Intel has been one of the worst performing stocks in the last several years. They just got rid of a CEO, their foundries have not been up to the task, they are severely behind Nvidia and AMD in AI sector with GPUs, they have reported poor earnings, and their consumer CPUs and wafers have been getting railroaded by AMD and TSMC.

However, I believe now is the best time to invest.

I believe things are finally starting to turn ship for Intel. For example -

• Their 18As have been getting decent yields despite the biased reporting, and look promising. Sure, TSMC is still their biggest rival and ahead of Intel, but Intel can catch up. If they can pluck a few talents from TSMC, or invest greater in their R&D, with US govt chip money backing them, it's possible.
• US government has a vested interest is not letting Intel to fail - it's a geopolitical issue to have cutting edge processor technology in US. If US continues to pump money into Intel just like Taiwan has done for TSMC, Intel can afford to expand its foundries and research cutting edge tech.
• Intel's new Battlemage GPUs seem really cost efficient and there is strong positive sentiment. They will start to gobble up more marketshare and absorb more of Nvidia's AI market as Intel's technology grows in the next gen. This is huge. Nvidia's marketcap is so big that if Intel even eats a bit of the AI market, it will grow exponentially.
  • Intel's GPU technology looks already promising seeing how they are catching up in drivers and software, and their XeSS technology is ALREADY better than AMD's FSR.
• They have been getting leaner with mass layoffs and shutting down European plants, and recently reported sell-to-lease transactions. They are cutting costs where they can.
• Their recent mobile chips - Lunar Lake, have performed fantastic, with high performance and low wattage (which is critical for laptops that suffer under high heat).

Additionally, if China invades Taiwan, Intel instantly will skyrocket overnight.

I think Intel has serious potential. It may not skyrocket overnight, but I think this is a long-term purchase and hold with little downsides. When you hit rock bottom, the only way you can go is up.