Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) CEO Brian Krzanich did his first keynote speech at the company’s developer forum this week, and Raymond James analysts say he did “a solid job.” However, they came away with mixed views on the overall corporate message that was given at the forum.
Key takeaways from Intel’s developer forum
Analysts Hans Mosesmann and Brian Peterson issued a note to investors after attending the forum. They said Krzanich appears to finally be “bringing some sense of reality to Intel.” For example, they said he admits that the PC market is heading to $400 price points in consumer segments—even as soon as this year’s holiday season.
Intel to focus on every segment of compute
They note that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is no longer focused only on x86 or Moore’s Law leadership as the main drivers of its future success. The chip maker is now focusing on system on chip integration, which has actually been the main approach of those licensing chips from competitor ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARMH) (LON:ARM) for 10 years or more now.
The analysts also said that the company has finally admitted that the processor is a pretty small part of the system on chip silicon and believe that the company’s strategy of becoming a leader “in every segment of compute” may be a bit too ambitious.
Of course they note that the chip maker has shown dominance in certain segments, they believe that the company’s positioning in the mobile and tablet markets is not as strong as Intel management believes. They also said they wouldn’t underestimate Intel because the company “is clearly determined” to focus on the entire compute platform, even though some areas present a big challenge.
An overall view of Intel
Overall, the analysts said they were encouraged by the company’s new focus on system on chip solutions, even though it is “late to the party.” They’re also “somewhat skeptical” on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)’s need to focus on everything because it dilutes resources assigned to research and development. However, they say that time will tell whether this decision is the right one.
They maintained their Underperform rating on the stock.
