While return policies have long been a problem for any retailer, they’ve also been a problem of late for Intel (INTC). New reports suggest that some YouTubers are pointing out flaws in the plan. That, plus issues of chip fabrication investment, are coming together to drag Intel shares down just over 3% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
With a potential solution to the instability problems in the works, some are taking a look back at how Intel handled issues of chip returns and not liking what they’re seeing. Gamer’s Nexus, a YouTube channel, pointed out how Intel handled things. For instance, while many processors were hit by the microcode error in question, a separate manufacturing defect—that won’t be helped by the microcode update—also proved a problem.
However, Intel hasn’t discussed the manufacturing problem much, if at all. That, in turn, led to Intel rejecting some returns when it apparently knew about a manufacturing issue but didn’t actually tell the public about it.
New Processors and Chip Issues
A new processor emerged from Intel—or rather, a leak about it did—and the news is noteworthy. Complete with Core Ultra branding, this chip is said to have a maximum thermal design power (TDP) of 125 watts and comes with the ability to overclock the chip’s P-cores. Ultimately, this gives us a 5 GHz clock speed and a 50x multiplier factor.
However, there’s a problem here, especially regarding Intel’s ambitions as a chip foundry. Its fabrication plant in Italy and a planned research and development plant in France are both canceled. Instead, Germany and Ireland are slated to get a boost to their funding. Poland is also said to get a boost as Intel looks to pare back a bit due to “financial losses.”
Is Intel a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on three Buys, 24 Holds, and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 5.11% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $38.02 per share implies 19.11% upside potential.
