Intel CFO Hints at Possible Division Split as Company Struggles To Recapture Moat

On Thursday, Intel Corp INTC CFO Dave Zinsner did not rule out the possibility of splitting the company’s factory and product-development divisions as the next CEO takes charge, Bloomberg cites from Barclays technology conference in San Francisco.

Zinsner is also serving as Intel’s interim co-CEO along with Michelle Johnston Holthaus following Pat Gelsinger’s exit after he failed to impress the board with his turnaround efforts.

Intel stock plunged 57% year-to-date as it failed to tap the current enterprise customer shift to artificial intelligence technology, which contributed to the upside for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co TSM. Taiwan Semiconductor stock is up 89% year-to-date.

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Intel also failed to boost its artificial intelligence accelerator chip business as its Gaudi chip could not gain traction in a market led by Nvidia Corp NVDA. Nvidia stock is up over 185% year-to-date.

Zinsner said during the conference that Intel’s two divisions were already separate in terms of their operating structure, which is in sharp contrast to Gelsinger’s plans to maintain the two units together.

The co-CEOS stressed during the conference that it would take time to fix Intel’s moat. They flagged challenges regarding data center products and outsourcing of contract manufacturing efforts.

Holthaus said that Intel will focus on updating generic graphics-chip offerings to make them competitive. In 2025, Intel will focus on containing Intel’s market-share loss, as per Holthaus.

The co-CEOs hinted at a possible sale of Intel’s manufacturing operations lest the new chipmaking technology fails to gain traction, Reuters cites from the conference.

During Taiwan Semiconductor founder Morris Chang’s autobiography launch, he highlighted Intel’s need for a new strategy and CEO.

During the UBS technology conference, Zinsner said he expects the next chief to be proficient in manufacturing and product development. He reiterated Intel’s fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $13.30 billion—$14.30 billion versus the analyst consensus of $13.81 billion.

Truist Securities and Benchmark analysts recently flagged that Intel’s separation of the foundry business could cost the $7.8 billion U.S. chip subsidy.

Price Action: INTC stock traded higher by 0.29% to $20.84 premarket at the last check on Friday.

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