Intel CEO Needs to Land a Big Customer, and the Clock Is Ticking
- Wall Street waiting for Gelsinger to name major foundry client
- Record-setting factory build-out hinges on lining up customers
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Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger has embarked on one of the largest factory-building sprees in chip-industry history, part of an audacious plan to revitalize the Silicon Valley pioneer. But he’s missing a key ingredient: enough paying customers.
Gelsinger’s turnaround plan for Intel hinges on it becoming a so-called foundry — a contract manufacturer that makes chips for other companies — and he’s promised Wall Street that he’ll start revealing the names of those customers this year. Even just one big name would help investors justify bidding up Intel shares 47% over the past 12 months, at a time when sales are sliding and the chipmaker’s once-vaunted profit margins have narrowed.