Intel’s Been the “Uncle Rico” of Chips for 5 Years… But its New CEO Put His Money Where His Mouth is

For years, Intel’s been the “Uncle Rico” of the chip world… still stuck in 2005, reminiscing about the days it ruled the semiconductor game while nursing a bad knee and telling anyone who’ll listen, “I could’ve outperformed Nvidia if the coach had just put me in.” But in reality, it’s been failing earnings calls, missing chip rollout deadlines, running through CEOs like the Kardashians run through boyfriends, and dealing with that infamous CPU scandal where everything really started to fall apart.

On the other hand, Nvidia became the face of AI computing, AMD pulled off a major comeback with its Ryzen and EPYC chips, and TSMC became the go-to manufacturer for semiconductors… all while Intel largely sat on the sidelines. Its foundry strategy struggled to gain traction, and its AI ambitions were overshadowed by faster-moving competitors. The market took notice… Intel’s stock has dropped 54% over the last five years, reflecting deep concerns about its direction and relevance. But in 2025, Intel’s stock is up 16%.

No, that’s not a rounding error. Yes, we triple-checked. The same Intel that lost $13.4 billion on its foundry business last year… is actually starting to be taken seriously. And a lot of that hope is pinned to one man… Lip-Bu Tan.

Now, the name might sound like a John Wick villain, but this dude’s got serious Wall Street hero potential. From 2009 to 2021, Tan led Cadence Design Systems to a 3,200% return. If you’d bought CDNS back when people were still renting DVDs from Redbox, you’d probably be sipping mojitos on a private island instead of doomscrolling financial Twitter.

So when Intel announced Lip-Bu as CEO in March, investors all across the world repeatedly smashed the BUY button… and shares jumped 15% in a day. Not because Intel suddenly found its groove, but because Tan’s got the kind of resume that makes analysts think he can turn it around like Lebron turned around the Cavs (two times).

But obviously, we all know what we’re dealing with here… Tan didn’t inherit a sleek tech Ferrari. He got a flaming dumpster on cinder blocks. The AI chip lineup is way behind Nvidia at this stage. And the foundry business is losing cash like FTX at its peak. Oh, and did I mention Intel still employs more than three times as many people as Nvidia or AMD? Great if you're staffing a call center… not so great for margins.

Still, Tan isn’t wasting time. He’s downsizing the bloated workforce, recalibrating the AI strategy, and trying to turn Intel Foundry Services into something respectable that actually works. With a new chip process (18A) on deck and big names like Amazon and Microsoft already signed on, there’s a chance this turnaround has legs… even if they’re still a little wobbly.

Now to the question everyone is asking… can Intel pull this off? It sure feels like they’ve got a fighting chance. Wall Street’s definitely getting more interested. The consensus right now is 27 Hold ratings, 4 Sells, and just 1 bold Buy. Basically, everyone’s waiting to see if Tan’s magic will stick or if this is just another false start. Even Bank of America cautiously moved their rating to Neutral… showing they have more confidence than they did before the new CEO stepped in.

Oh, and did I mention that when he was hired, he agreed to buy $25 million of Intel stock within his first 30 days to show he’s putting his money where his mouth is? If that’s not something to get excited about, I don’t know what is.

P.S. Just when you thought our beloved congressmen couldn’t get any greasier, one Republican lawmaker decided to YOLO $175k into a stock… right before a major FDIC announcement hit. Lucky timing? Insider edge? You be the judge. We broke it all down inside our recent Stocks.News premium article… click here to check it out ASAP. 

Stock.News has positions in Intel, Amazon, and Microsoft.