It doesn't look too good for Intel

Intel is cutting 12,000 workers as it faces the financial consequences of underestimating a profound shift in computing from desktop computers to pocket-sized devices. And more trouble may lie ahead. The rate at which Intel makes technological advances suddenly seems to be slowing, and other looming trends, including artificial intelligence and perhaps virtual reality, look set to benefit a different kind of computer architecture.

Why Intel’s Job Cuts May Be Just the Beginning

While the sares aren't very expensive, Intel might be hitting a bit of a wall here in the low 30s (presently at $32), although earnings are still rising and the shares have a very nice 3.25% dividend yield.

The PC is dead, the data center may be peaking, and the Internet of Things may be years of software development away. So Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is throwing people overboard, hoping it can keep interest in the stock and its dividend high until its transformation is complete. Intel's actual results - 54 cents per share of earnings on an 8% year-over-year gain in revenues - were overshadowed by weak guidance and the announcement of 12,000 job cuts, which will be made over the next year

Can Intel Become Its Own Microsoft? - Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) | Seeking Alpha

The PC market declined 9% in the last quarter, the internet of things is probably the main growth market for Intel, but things are not straightforwar here as this market lacks a unified operating system and we're not sure why Intel would do much better here than in the mobile market.

Intel's decision to cut 12,000 jobs has been labelled as a shift away from the declining PC market, increasing its focus on data centre sales instead. But it faces some challenges here too. While Dell and HP are currently among the biggest chips buyers in the world, hyperscale data centre operators such as Google are accountable for more and more of global server sales. Interestingly, Google has let fly some indications that it might be considering Qualcomm chips, with rumours of a partnership announcement between the two earlier this year. This didn’t turn out to be the case – but there’s still talk about Google planning to diversify. However, Google did announce it was considering using IBM Power chips at an Open Compute Project event a few weeks ago. It all adds up to suggestions one of the most influential hyperscale businesses is looking at options other than Intel, and from its perspective, if Google and others can grab price reductions through greater competition with Intel, at the scale they’re running at the situation would be a winner. Such events could be a clear marker for others to follow suit. Heavy hitters like Facebook and Microsoft, along with some of the biggest banks, are all active members of the Open Compute Project. And moving away from Intel would be likely to filter down to other businesses over time.

Five hurdles Intel faces in the near future | IT Business | Computerworld UK

But Intel disclosed in a regulatory filing last month that it is slowing the pace with which it launches new chip-making technology. The gap between successive generations of chips with new, smaller transistors will widen. With the transistors in Intel’s latest chips already as small as 14 nanometers, it is becoming more difficult to shrink them further in a way that's cost-effective for production.

Intel Puts the Brakes on Moore’s Law

Amazing, this, they've given up

On Saturday, Intel confirmed that it was canceling its upcoming Atom chip, known as "Braxton" for smartphones and tablets, and that it was also ditching a few other related smartphone chips, the company told Ian Cutress and Ryan Smith at the AnandTech news site.

Intel kills its next smartphone, tablet chips - Business Insider

During a week in which the Nasdaq is almost unchanged, Intel Corp.'s (INTC - Get Report) shares have dropped about 4%. That likely has much to do with a pair of fresh attempts by Qualcomm Inc.  (QCOM - Get Report) and IBM Corp. (IBM - Get Report)  to take aim at Intel's mainstay CPU franchises. Throw in recent efforts by Qualcomm and AMD Inc. (AMD - Get Report)  to battle Intel in the server market, and the chip giant is likely staring at a tougher competitive environment several months from now, even as its efforts to fend off AMD in the PC CPU market continue paying off. On Dec. 5, Qualcomm and Microsoft Corp.  (MSFT - Get Report)  made good on their plans to commercialize Windows 10 notebooks powered by Qualcomm's ARM-architecture Snapdragon 835 processor, which drives many high-end Android phones and some AR/VR headsets. Thanks to emulation software, Qualcomm-powered Windows systems will be able to run apps that were written for x86-architecture Intel and AMD CPUs. HP Inc. (HPQ - Get Report) , Lenovo and Asus have each unveiled Qualcomm-powered notebook/tablet convertibles; volume shipments aren't expected until 2018. Three selling points made possible by the Snapdragon 835: The devices sport 4G modems (sometimes found on high-end Intel notebooks), offer superb battery life (20 to 22 hours) and feature a standby mode that -- much like an ARM-base smartphone or tablet -- allow devices to be woken instantly and can operate for about a month on a charge. And prices should be reasonable: The base model for Asus' Qualcomm-powered NovaGo laptop goes for $599, and a model with extra RAM and storage goes for $799. HP and Lenovo haven't yet announced pricing.

Just before Qualcomm and Microsoft made their announcement, IBM unveiled the AC922, a modular server featuring two of Big Blue's mammoth Power9 server CPUs. The system is optimized for workloads requiring GPUs, such as AI and high-performance computing (HPC), and supports up to six of Nvidia Inc.'s (NVDA - Get Report) flagship Tesla V100 GPUs. It also delivers a ton of I/O bandwidth for connecting CPUs with GPUs and other accelerators: IBM claims 9.6 times as much as that of rival x86 CPUs such as Intel's, though Intel may be beg to differ with that figure. Notably, Alphabet Inc./Google (GOOGL - Get Report) , among the world's largest buyers of Intel's Xeon server CPUs, says it's deploying Power9 systems (just how many is unknown). The web giant is already a backer of IBM's OpenPower initiative, which allows third-party server makers to offer systems running Power CPUs.

Intel Faces New Threats From IBM and Qualcomm, Even As It Fends Off AMD - TheStreet