Out at chip stock Intel (INTC), they were looking forward to rolling out the new Panther Lake system on a chip (SoC) line. But new reports suggest that the Panther Lake rollout is about to be pushed back to the last quarter of 2025, and the cause may be connected to the 18A process. Shareholders were wildly displeased, and Intel stock plunged over 5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
Such news would be disastrous for Intel. Not so much because the Panther Lake line is getting delayed, which is bad enough, but because apparently the 18A process—which was regarded by some as a bet-the-company move—is not delivering the way Intel would like.
Reports from no less than Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities say that earlier reports of the second half of 2025 as a launch date were clarified to the back half of the second half, now looking like mid-fourth quarter. In fact, there is a chance, the reports note, that the full Panther Lake line will not debut before 2026. This is mostly due to a gap of two to four weeks between shipments of chips and finished products.
Hitting MWC Hard
But all is not quite lost, as reports emerged about what Intel will be bringing to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona this year. Intel looks to show off its Xeon 6 lineup, and just what it can do in terms of offering the best of performance for artificial intelligence (AI) applications without needing extra hardware or a lot of ownership expense in general.
This would be a win Intel sorely needs, as word also emerged about how much cash Intel has dropped on the Ohio manufacturing plant. We already heard that the New Albany plant has been delayed by “several years,” however, what we just recently heard was how much Intel has already spent out there. Intel spent $3.7 billion on the plant as of the end of 2024, and has another $3.2 billion in work that is covered under contract.
Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 25 Holds and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 49.61% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $22.69 per share implies 4.42% upside potential.
