Now it’s unlikely that federal authorities would allow such a deal to go through but regardless, Qualcomm is reportedly interested in buying out Intel. Qualcomm has a strong global presence and resources and is known for its cellphone and mobile technology. Chip manufacturer Intel has been engaged in a strategy to reduce operating costs and become fiscally viable through its $10 billion cost savings plan. Intel has also just accepted $3 billion in funding assistance from the US government. Intel recently announced it could no longer afford its Altera FPGA company and would be putting the recently launched company up for sale.
Furthermore, not long after Intel said it would be selling its stake in Softbank, the ARM owner was reportedly looking to switch its business from Intel to TSMC, and then ARM was also reported to be looking into producing discreet GPUs as well, making them a new rival in the market that Intel is readying its 2nd gen of products. The five-decade-old chip manufacturer has additionally been performing staff reductions since 2023 which could culminate with up to 25% of its staff having been laid off by 2025. All of this combined with more damaging news regarding instability issues with select 13th and 14th gen Core processors has undoubtedly led to lessening support among its shareholders.
Per Reuters:
- Intel’s shares have declined 56% this year, making it the worst performer on the index and leaving it with the lowest stock price on the price-weighted Dow.
- Analysts and investors have said that Intel was likely to be removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average index (.DJI)
News about a possible deal between Qualcomm and Intel comes from The Wall Street Journal following earlier rumors that Qualcomm had previously been eyeing select parts of Intel. Anonymous sources have told Reuters that Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon has been actively involved in negotiations with Intel to secure a deal. Even though Qualcomm is reportedly looking at its options for a deal, it would likely need approval from federal regulators and other global entities, which could be a challenge to get. Fiscally speaking though, Qualcomm’s current market cap has been reported at $188 billion with Intel at just $93 billion so it likely has the resources to fund such a deal.
On the plus side for Intel, new products featuring its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake processors are on the horizon and early performance reports for Lunar Lake are looking promising. A lot is riding on its next round of CPUs, GPUs, and data center offerings as the company seeks to regain its footing.