Pat Gelsinger is out, but the big questions remain
In context: Intel has been in play since reporting its disastrous June quarter. Despite turning in a decent quarter last month, the writing has been on the wall for several months that Gelsinger was under pressure. That pressure was coming from all directions – customers, partners, employees, and, not least, the Street. After the company reset guidance in July, the consensus across the financial community was that Intel had to be split in two, and increasingly that Gelsinger had to go.
Apparently AMD has blocking rights for any acquisition of Intel. If a deal were to happen, what would AMD ask for?
Editor's take: We are frequently asked some version of the question, "Will someone acquire Intel?" At this point, we think it is highly unlikely, but these are unpredictable times. Setting aside all the principal considerations – like money, strategy, and regulatory approval – there are a few other hurdles. Chief among these is Intel's license for x86.
Qualcomm does indeed have 50,000-ish employees, double those of Nvidia and AMD
Why it matters: After looking at revenue and operating income per employee for big semiconductor companies, we thought that was a fun exercise, so we have looked at another dozen tech companies in various sectors. Broadcom and Apple are in a league of their own – it is good to have a software or licensing business.
The chip companies are never going to really love this business
The big picture: Earlier this year we were reviewing Analyst Day slides from leading semiconductor companies and a clear theme emerged. Large companies are all shifting in a similar direction, posing some potential challenges for their long-term positions. More and more customers are looking for special purpose chips, a coping mechanism for dealing with the slowdown in Moore's Law. And the big players are all looking to support those customers.