This year has been a struggle for Intel (INTC:NASDAQ) – investors don’t seem to be buying the optimism the chip firm has spun around its PC and data centre business, while it has thus far failed miserably when it comes to convincing the market it hasn’t missed the AI (artificial intelligence) boat.

Data from Sharepad shows Intel is the second-worst performer on the S&P 500 in 2024, down nearly 40% on where it started the year.

Now the US government has revoked licenses which allowed Intel and others to ship chips used in laptops and handsets to sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment-maker Huawei Technologies. It’s hard to quantify how big a hit this could be, but it does nothing to dispel the negative sentiment currently enveloping the company.  

‘We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei’, said the US Commerce Department in a statement, although it neglected to specify which licenses were involved. The Commerce Department’s move, first reported by Reuters, comes after concerted pressure by China hawks on the Republican side in Congress who have urged the Biden administration to take tougher action to thwart Huawei.

Meanwhile, the US chip maker is reported to be in talks with asset management company Apollo to provide more than $11 billion of financing to build a new manufacturing plant in Ireland. 

‹ Previous2024-05-16Next ›