Intel Foundries Lost $13 Billion Last Year, But Its Losses Are No Longer Historic

Last quarter, amid turmoil and restructuring, chipmaker Intel announced 1 of nan largest patient quarterly losses of each clip — $16.6 billion, 10 times worse than its $1.6B nonaccomplishment nan 4th before. But successful today’s Q4 2024 and full-year nett release, Intel’s not hurting arsenic badly: nan institution conscionable announced a specified $126 cardinal quarterly nonaccomplishment connected $14.3 cardinal successful revenue.

That doesn’t mean nan company’s successful awesome shape, exactly, arsenic its superior businesses were each down this 4th and hardly up complete nan afloat twelvemonth (see array below). And if you thought its chipmaking foundries were spending excessively overmuch backmost erstwhile they mislaid $7 cardinal successful 2023, well, Intel conscionable revealed nan foundries mislaid astir double that — $13.4 cardinal — crossed 2024.

Some group would logic that foundry money is conscionable nan worth Intel’s paying to put successful its future, drawback up to rivals, and enactment nan only awesome chipmaker that designs and fabricates its chips from scratch. And by “some people,” I mean it was ousted Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s goal. But now he’s gone, location personification been overmuch whispers astir Intel spinning disconnected its chipmaking businesses, point Gelsinger somewhat seeded himself.

Intel says its foundry business is doing amended anyhow, though, pinch reduced losses of $2.3 cardinal past quarter, expected “financial improvements” coming adjacent twelvemonth arsenic it ramps accumulation of its utmost ultraviolet lithography (EUV) chips, and a strategy to deed “op inc break-even” by nan extremity of 2027. Intel says its all-important 18A process, which uses EUV, will nutrient chips successful measurement successful nan 2nd half of adjacent year.

Meanwhile, nan institution seems to beryllium laying disconnected conscionable arsenic galore labour arsenic promised: by nan extremity of 2024, it had 15,000 little labour than it did nan erstwhile quarter, nan institution confirmed today.

Over nan afloat year, Intel mislaid $18.76 cardinal connected $53.1 cardinal successful revenue.

Developing: I’ll beryllium listening successful connected nan Intel nett telephone soon (at 5pm ET) to spot if we study point additionally intriguing; this’ll beryllium nan first from Intel’s caller co-CEOs, 1 of whom promised astatine CES 2025 that nan company’s really still committed to graphics.