New Revelations On Intel's Billion Dollar "Coulda Shoulda Woulda" Mistake (Hint: Sam Weird Al-tman)

Well in light of all the back in forth chaos the market has instilled this week, we’ve finally gotten our answer as to why Intel is absolutely pathetic in 2024. In fact, the company is performing so poorly these days, that investors can’t help but admire just how amazingly they are dropping the ball. 

(Source: Giphy) 

For instance, in addition to the company completely whiffing on top and bottom line estimates during their previous quarterly earnings (aka business as usual for Intel in 2024), the stock has tanked -57.13% YTD. And now due to recent reports, it’s become even more evident as to why Intel has lost an insane amount of ground in the Big Tech industry all while the company is laying off 15% of its global workforce. 

(Source: Kiplinger) 

What’s that? You thought Intel missing analysts EPS estimates by -80.25% this quarter, while missing revenue two quarters in a row was the biggest L for Intel? Yeah, think again. 

You see, way back in the good old days, Intel was once the king of the semiconductor jungle, strutting around with the swagger of a peacock in a tech conference. Fast forward to 2024, and the repercussions of a billion-dollar blunder has left its stock plummeting faster than a lead balloon—down nearly 60% year-to-date.

(Source: Giphy) 

A billion dollar blunder? Details please…

I’m glad you asked. Let’s rewind a few years back shall we? The year is 2017 and the tech world is starting to buzz about the idea of generative AI as the GOAT itself, OpenAI, a fresh-faced startup, approaches Intel with a generous proposal: a chance to buy a 15% stake of the company for $1 billion. 

(Source: Reuters) 

Of course, this is pre-Pat Gelsinger days, you know, before his tenure included overseeing the biggest sh^t show in Big Tech history. But still, even for CEO Bob Swan back then, OpenAI’s potential of bringing generative AI to the world was about as promising as a VHS tape in the Netflix streaming era. So naturally, Intel passed on the offer with the idea that large language models wouldn’t hit the market anytime soon. Spoiler alert: Sam Altman did, and he brought snacks.

(Source: Fudzilla)

Fast forward a few years (which is like minutes in innovation time), and OpenAI rocketed into the stratosphere of tech valuation, now sitting pretty at around $80 billion thanks to its blockbuster product, ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Intel was left twiddling its thumbs with “No Ragrets” tattooed on it's forehead as their market cap dipped below $100 billion for the first time in three decades. 

(Source: Market Watch) 

Now of course, this is just one factor to the story regarding Intel’s great demise, but it’s clear that this missed investment has had a major aftershock when it comes to Intel’s tech dominance. Especially given the fact that at the time of OpenAI’s offer, not only did Intel’s core business primarily focus on CPUs (those central processing units that power your laptops), but they completely ignored the rising tide of GPUs (graphics processing units) that are essential for running AI models. 

This of course, gave Nvidia, the cool kid who actually paid attention in class (and is now worth a staggering $2.6 trillion), the open door to seize the moment in order to transform its AI chips into tech’s golden goose. 

(Source: Giphy) 

So with this new revelation, it’s clear where Intel is at as a company in the tech space. Simply put, they are the epitome of the hare trying to catch the tortoise as they’ve made several attempts to create viable AI chips. However, even with buying startups like Nervana Systems and Habana Labs, Intel has clearly fallen short every time leaving investors with about as much confidence as my ACT scores in highschool. 

(Source: CTech) 

Now with that said, let’s go back to our boy Pat Gelsinger, the supposed savior of Intel’s comeback story. Sure, he’s been making all the right noises, including promises that Intel’s new Gaudi AI chip will outshine Nvidia’s H100 GPUs. But let’s be real here boys and girls—actions speak louder than words, and Intel’s track record hasn’t been exactly stellar. 

With a staggering -26% drop since Intel dropped its recent earnings, (the worst single day for Intel since 1974, when my mom thought Dave Cassidy was still cool), analysts like Moody’s are now raising eyebrows, questioning whether Intel can ever close the gap it’s created for itself. 

(Source: Yahoo Finance) 

So given all of this, what’s the takeaway here?

Well in short, Intel pretty much f**ked up. Big time. They didn’t see the writing on the wall, even though they were  scribbling on the wall themselves. Yet, now, they’ve found themselves with their pants down as they are trying to regain footing in a tech world that’s as competitive as OnlyFans. 

(Source: Giphy) 

Meaning, Intel’s business is not in a great position right now. And unfortunately, regardless of how sketchy Sam Weird Al-tman is, passing on OpenAI is proving to be one of the biggest mistakes in Intel’s history. Because had they jumped on the opportunity, we could be singing a far different tune for Intel in 2024. 

But now, investors are just going to have to accept the “coulda shoulda woulda” and deal with the “Hello darkness, my old friend” reality. *Sigh*

(Source: Yarn)

So with that said, keep an eye on Intel… or not. Only time will tell what happens for the company going forward, but in the meantime, I hope this just gives Intel investors, who’ve been punching air this year, some sort of closure. 

On the other hand though, it’s probably nothing, buuuut, Intel shockingly closed yesterday up +7.90% in light of a new class action lawsuit by shareholders lmao. So yeah, Wall Street Logic 101 strikes again, I guess. 

Stocks.News holds positions in Intel as mentioned in the article.