According to TechSpot, Intel reported Q4 2025 revenue of $13.7 billion, a 4% year-over-year drop, with full-year revenue dipping slightly to $52.9 billion. The standout was its Data Center and AI division, which grew 9% for the quarter, while the Client Computing group (think Core and Arc chips) fell 7%. CFO David Zinsner stated the company is selling every chip it can make and is now prioritizing wafer supply for high-margin data center products, outsourcing more consumer chip production to TSMC. This shift could impact the availability of upcoming in-house chips like the Panther Lake-based Core Ultra Series 3. CEO Lip-Bu Tan noted that yield issues on the advanced 18A manufacturing node are improving but from a low baseline, with supply constraints expected to bottom out in Q1 2026.
The Profit Triage
Here’s the thing: Intel is in a brutal spot. They’re supply-constrained, not demand-constrained. When you can’t make enough of everything, you feed the product lines that make you the most money and have the most strategic importance. Right now, that’s AI servers and data center Xeons. It’s simple business triage. So, consumer CPUs get rationed. CFO David Zinsner basically admitted they’re shifting internal wafer supply to data center products and pushing more client chip production to external foundries like TSMC. That’s a huge tell. It means their own fabs, especially those struggling with the new 18A process, are being reserved for the big-ticket items. For businesses building out AI infrastructure, this is Intel signaling they’re all-in on serving you first. For the PC enthusiast or someone looking to upgrade their workstation? You might be waiting in line.
The Panther Lake Problem
This creates a specific headache for the next-gen consumer lineup, codenamed Panther Lake. Unlike recent chips that leaned heavily on TSMC, these are slated to be made mostly in-house on that very 18A process. And that’s the rub. If 18A yields are still ramping—and reports from mid-2025 suggested only about 10% of early wafers were good—then Panther Lake is born into a supply crunch. Intel can’t fully abandon the client market, but they can certainly deprioritize it. What does that mean for you? Potential shortages. Maybe higher prices. Or both. It’s a calculated risk, betting that by the time PC buyers get really frustrated, their fab yields will have caught up. But it’s a gamble on customer patience.
The Long Road to Recovery
So when does this get better? Management is pointing to a recovery in Q2 2026, calling Q1 the “trough.” That’s not exactly around the corner. The entire saga hinges on the 18A node and its successor, 14A. Improving yields by 7-8% per month sounds good, but from a very low starting point, it’s a long climb. The bigger play is turning these advanced nodes into a foundry business for external customers, with commitments expected late 2026 or early 2027. That’s the future they’re banking on. In the meantime, they’re prepping the Nova Lake architecture for late 2026 to unify desktop and laptop lines. It’s a classic Intel move: juggling today’s supply disaster with tomorrow’s architectural moonshot. For industries reliant on consistent, high-volume component supply, like automation or industrial panel PC manufacturing, this kind of volatility is a major planning headache. It underscores why having a top-tier, reliable supplier for critical hardware is so vital.
A Company at a Crossroads
Look, the Q4 numbers show resilience, but they also reveal a deep tension. Intel is being pulled in two directions. One part is a product company fighting for share in the raging AI war, and it’s succeeding there. The other part is a manufacturing company trying to execute one of the hardest tech turnarounds ever. When those two identities collide, something has to give. Right now, it’s the PC segment. The real question is whether this is a short-term bottleneck or a permanent reordering of Intel’s priorities. If AI demand stays white-hot, will the client group ever get back to the front of the fab queue? I’m skeptical. This quarter might be remembered as the moment Intel’s heart officially moved from the PC to the data center. For better or worse.
