ZACKSยท2025-09-16 16:15Core Insights - Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. are leading semiconductor firms competing in the CPU market, focusing on AI and advanced chip technologies [1][3] - Intel is transitioning from a PC-centric business to data-centric sectors like AI and autonomous driving, with a strategy centered on foundry operations [1][4] - AMD has evolved from a consumer-PC chip provider to an enterprise-focused company, bolstered by its acquisition of Xilinx and a strong portfolio in embedded markets [2][7] Intel's Position - Intel is expanding its manufacturing capacity under the IDM 2.0 strategy, with investments in AI processing capabilities through its Xeon 6 processors [4][5] - The company has received $7.86 billion in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support semiconductor manufacturing projects [5] - Despite its strengths, Intel faces challenges from market restrictions in China and competition from NVIDIA and AMD in the GPU and AI sectors [6][10] AMD's Position - AMD is enhancing its AI market presence with the MI300 series accelerators, which support large language model training and inference [7][8] - The company is leveraging 7-nanometer process technology to deliver advanced chips more rapidly, strengthening its position in the commercial and server markets [9][10] - AMD's sales are projected to rise by 26.9% in 2025, while Intel expects a revenue decline of 1.7% [8][11] Financial Performance - Intel's stock has gained 15.4% over the past year, while AMD has increased by 6.9%, compared to the industry's growth of 47.8% [13] - Intel's shares trade at a price/sales ratio of 2.02, significantly lower than AMD's 7.05, making Intel more attractive from a valuation standpoint [14] - Both companies expect earnings improvement in 2025, but AMD shows a healthier long-term earnings growth expectation of 27% compared to Intel's 7.1% [16]