Shares of semiconductor veteran Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) swooned 11.5% lower in April 2025, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. There wasn’t a single catalyst behind this price drop, but a certain theme developed in this four-week period.
Is Intel hot or not? Image source: Getty Images.
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Intel’s big plan didn’t wow Wall Street
CEO Lip-Bu Tan took the stage at the Vision 2025 conference after market close on March 31 to deliver a keynote, and it turned out to be a detailed turnaround plan. He promised to return Intel to its innovative roots, designing future chips to meet the needs of specific software workloads. He also reiterated Intel’s commitment to the Foundry business, putting a world-class semiconductor manufacturer firmly on American soil. But the stock fell the next day because many investors had been hoping for a different strategy — perhaps disposing of the Foundry segment to refocus Intel on pure processor designs.
The future of the Foundry business became a recurring theme in Intel’s April volatility. The rumor mill suggested that the company might spin it off into a joint development with sector giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). The first-quarter report on April 24 beat analyst expectations across the board, but Tan’s leadership team didn’t unveil any game-changing Foundry developments.
When Intel finally delivered a detailed Foundry strategy update near the end of the month, the event barely moved its stock price. Again, the company underscored its pledge to build a domestic foundry business with “world-class” capabilities over the next five years.
Investors didn’t get the game-changing fireworks they wanted
Intel may be running under new management. However, Tan seems convinced that ex-CEO Pat Gelsinger was on the right track. As it happens, I would agree with that assessment.
The current era of rebuilding Intel’s business model around a radically different idea isn’t cheap or easy. However, it should result in a massive long-term business in the long run, especially if political relations between Beijing and Washington stay tense.
Meanwhile, market makers disagree and keep driving Intel’s stock price lower. The stock is now down 33% over the last 52 weeks, compared to a 13% gain for the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) market index. The company is unprofitable at the moment, but trades at a reasonable forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25.8 and the bargain-bin price-to-sales ratio of 1.7. In my view, Intel’s stock looks quite undervalued these days.
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Anders Bylund has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
