Intel: when a leader falls behind
How a company that led its industry for decades lost ground, and what that looked like in its margins and cash.
Last updated: September 2026
Click any Tap any word with a dotted underline to see what it means.
The situation
For decades, Intel made the processors inside most personal computers and servers, and it was known for having the most advanced chip factories in the world. Around 2018 to 2020, it faced repeated delays in moving to newer manufacturing technology, while TSMC, which makes chips for other companies, moved ahead.
Competitors gained ground: AMD, whose chips are made by TSMC, won customers in PCs and servers, and starting in 2020 Apple replaced Intel processors in its Mac computers with chips it designed itself. In 2021, a new CEO announced a plan to spend heavily on new factories and to also make chips for other companies.
The numbers
Intel (INTC), fiscal years 2019 to 2025
| Metric | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $72.0B | $77.9B | $79.0B | $63.1B | $54.2B | $53.1B | $52.9B |
| Revenue Growth | +1.6% | +8.2% | +1.5% | −20.2% | −14.0% | −2.1% | −0.5% |
| Gross Margin | 58.6% | 56.0% | 55.4% | 42.6% | 40.0% | 32.7% | 34.8% |
| Net Income | $21.0B | $20.9B | $19.9B | $8.01B | $1.69B | −$18.8B | −$267.0M |
| Free Cash Flow | $16.9B | $21.6B | $10.7B | −$9.41B | −$14.3B | −$15.7B | −$4.95B |
What the numbers showed
Revenue fell sharply in 2022 and 2023, and dropped a long way from where it had been. At the same time, on new factories stayed very high, so turned negative. In 2024, Intel reported a large loss, including big one-time charges. The company cut its by about two-thirds in early 2023 and suspended it in 2024.
What happened next
In December 2024, the CEO who had launched the plan left the company. In 2025, Intel cut spending and its loss became much smaller, but whether its plan to catch up in manufacturing would work was still an open question.
What was uncertain at the time
- Whether Intel could catch up with the most advanced manufacturing technology.
- Whether other companies would trust Intel to make their chips.
- How long the company could keep spending heavily while revenue and cash were falling.
What this case shows
A long record of success doesn't protect a company from falling behind. Warning signs can appear in several numbers at once, such as falling margins together with rising spending and weaker cash flow. The case also shows that a dividend can be cut or stopped when cash gets tight.