The PC market meltdown over the past year hasn't been kind to holders of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) stock, which is down more than 8% since last summer versus a better than 20% gain for the S&P 500.
You know what, though? It could be worse. Intel shares are up more than seven percentage points on the S&P year to date thanks long-overdue gains in the market for mobile chips. The latest example: Samsung, which recently signed on to use Intel's Haswell chipset in future versions of its Galaxy Tab.
But investing is also a game best played in context. How does Intel stock compare to peers Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD ) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN ) ? Here's what the numbers say:
| Current share price | $25.47 | $4.09 | $36.12 |
| Shares outstanding | 4.97 billion | 714.5 million | 1.11 billion |
| Market cap | $126.6 billion | $2.9 billion | $40.1 billion |
| Trailing P/E ratio | 12.73 | Not available | 22.37 |
| PEG ratio | 1.21 | (1.37) | 2.71 |
| Gross margin | 60.3% | 33.7% | 49.3% |
| Cash from operations | $20.19 billion | ($600 million) | $3.33 billion |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Yahoo! Finance.
And here's what Fools say, going by the data available in our CAPS investor intelligence database:
| CAPS stars (out of 5) | ***** | ** | *** |
| Number of CAPS ratings | 10,059 | 3,800 | 1,659 |
| Bullish CAPS ratings | 9,437 | 3,127 | 1,530 |
Top 10 Financial Companies To Watch In Right NowBearish CAPS ratings | 622 | 673 | 129 |
| Bull ratio | 93.8% | 82.3% | 92.2% |
Source: Motley Fool CAPS.
Intel gets Fools' highest rating, and for good reason, writes CAPS All-Star chitownjester:
These guys aren't dumb. [They] [w]ill figure out new business models to offset declining PC sales and further take advantage of [the] mobile revolution. Ultrabook gambit failed but too much horsepower and resources -- they will recover. One key driver will be cloud/server. And when the #1 PC (Mac!) runs on your kit, you're doing something right.
Verdict: Intel stock is a buy
Intel has has run dry in the mobile market for so long that it sometimes seems it'll never catch up to all the various ARM Holdings licensees. And yet, looking at Intel's margin and cash flow advantages, I have to believe Haswell's success was inevitable, and that more successes are likely on the way. I'm picking Intel to beat the market over the next year in my CAPS portfolio as a result.
Where do you stand? Let us know what you think of Haswell's prospects versus competitors, and whether you'd buy, sell, or short Intel stock at current prices, using the comments box below.
Don't count your chips just yet
Just how big is Intel's opportunity? In this premium research report on Intel, a Motley Fool analyst explains all of the key topics investors should understand before investing a dime in the chip giant. Click here now to learn more.
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