No lies! Last year I was also calling Intel "garbage." But my opinion changed very quickly. Why? Let me explain.

In my opinion, Intel is no longer a garbage company. In the past (especially in early 2023 and 2025), it was in a very bad state, and calling it "garbage" was logical. Now, however, the company is in a recovery process and is gaining significant momentum with the policies of the Trump administration.

What was it like before?

• It was 2-3 generations behind TSMC in process node technology. • It lost significant market share to AMD in the CPU market. • Its foundry (third-party chip manufacturing) business was almost non-existent. • Costs were high, margins were low, and debt and investment needs were high. • Its share price dropped to $20 in 2025, and there were even discussions about whether the company would "go bankrupt."

What is it like now?

• Operational discipline is increasing with the new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. • Commercial production has begun in the 18A process (Intel's most advanced technology). • Big deals are coming. Nvidia is working with Intel on custom CPUs. • Elon Musk's Terafab project (a giant factory for Tesla, xAI, and $SPCX) is being built in Texas using Intel technology.
• $AAPL will also have some of its chips manufactured in Intel's foundry in the US (this is exactly what Trump announced today).

The Trump administration acquired a 10% stake in the company for approximately $9 billion in 2025 (at that time Intel's market value was around $100 billion). Today, Intel's value exceeds $600 billion, so the government's share has increased in value by over $60 billion. This is a very important move, both strategically and financially, to mitigate the China/Taiwan risk.

Regarding Professor Bora's "still garbage" opinion, he has some valid points:

• The balance sheet is still not completely clean (restructuring costs and low margins continue).
• Foundry revenue is still small.
• Competition with the AMD + TSM duo is very fierce.

But calling it "still garbage" is a bit of an exaggeration and stubbornness, in my opinion. Garbage companies generally don't recover or attract giants like the government, NVDA, AAPL, and Elon Musk. INTC is currently moving from "bad to mid-level." It needs to prove itself in 2026-2027 to become truly "good."

My clear view:

• In the short term (1-2 years): Risky, but momentum is strong. The stock has already increased 5-6 times from its 2025 low, so it's not "cheap." In fact, it's among the most expensive chip companies. As long as there are new deals and Trump's support, the stock price could go even higher, but it's quite possible it will experience sharp sell-offs during market corrections.

• In the long term (3 to 5 years): It has potential. The US "chip independence" policy protects and nourishes Intel. If successful, it could gain a serious position as an alternative to $TSM.

• If it were completely worthless, Nvidia wouldn't invest $5 billion, Apple wouldn't make the deal, and Elon wouldn't build a factory together.