Intel ( NASDAQ: INTC ) stock price has been in a tough spot in the past few months as the company faces numerous challenges in its business. The shares have lost more than half of their value and are trading at $26. It has been one of the worst-performing semiconductor stocks in the industry.
How Intel lost its shine
Intel, which was the biggest semiconductor company in the world, has moved from one crisis to another. Bad judgment made the company miss the rebound of the smartphone industry, which is now dominated by Qualcomm.
At the same time, the company’s internal processes have not helped it as it has been passed by smaller companies like AMD in the 7nm space. This happened even as Intel’s research and development costs continued rising. Since 2013, the company has spent more than $147 billion in R&D costs. In contrast, AMD has spent less than $20 billion in R&D and achieved significant successes.
Intel has continued losing its market share across all segments , including PCs and data centers. As a result, with the company’s free cash flow (FCF) has continued dwindling even as the total addressable market has grown.
