Intel vs. Advanced Micro: Which Chipmaker is the Better Buy Now?

Core Insights - Intel and AMD are leading semiconductor companies competing in the CPU market, focusing on AI and advanced chip technologies [1][3] - Intel is shifting from a PC-centric business model to data-centric sectors, including AI and autonomous driving, while AMD is evolving from a consumer-PC chip provider to an enterprise-focused company [1][2] Intel's Position - Intel is investing in expanding its manufacturing capacity as part of its IDM 2.0 strategy, aiming to strengthen its presence in the AI sector with its Xeon 6 processors designed for large AI workloads [4] - The company has received $7.86 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support semiconductor manufacturing projects, which will enhance innovation and growth [5] - Despite its strengths, Intel faces challenges due to its significant revenue dependence on China and increasing competition from domestic chipmakers and NVIDIA in the GPU market [6] AMD's Position - AMD is enhancing its AI market presence with the MI300 series accelerator family, which supports large language model training and generative AI workloads [7] - The company is leveraging 7-nanometer process technology to deliver advanced chips more rapidly, strengthening its competitive position against Intel in the commercial and server markets [8] - AMD is experiencing strong enterprise adoption and cloud deployments, although it faces competition from Intel in traditional computing and from NVIDIA in the GPU market [9][10] Financial Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intel's 2025 sales indicates a year-over-year decline of 4.3%, while EPS is expected to grow by 323.1% [11] - In contrast, AMD's 2025 sales are projected to grow by 23.3%, with EPS rising by 22.7% [12] Valuation and Performance - Over the past year, Intel's stock has declined by 33.8%, while AMD has lost 33.2%, against the industry's growth of 14.1% [13] - From a valuation perspective, Intel's shares trade at a price/sales ratio of 1.74, significantly lower than AMD's 5.48 [15] - Despite both companies expecting earnings improvement in 2025, AMD shows a healthier long-term earnings growth expectation of 24.5% compared to Intel's 10.5% [17]