⚠ $3.3 Billion of Old Factories Written DownModerate threat

Intel (INTC) — threat to the moat

Intel wrote off $3.3 billion of Intel 7 factories in 2024, a reminder that each new process strands part of the last.

Leading-edge manufacturing has a cost that appears when the process moves on. In 2024 Intel Foundry recorded $3.3 billion of non-cash impairments and accelerated depreciation, primarily related to manufacturing assets for its Intel 7 process node1, and in 2025 a further $950 million of asset impairments and accelerated depreciation2.

Foundry impairments and accelerated depreciation ($M)3,30020249502025Intel Form 10-K FY2025
The cost of moving on.

That is the other side of the node race. Intel estimates that the substantial majority of its consolidated depreciation expense is incurred by Intel Foundry3, and when older capacity is no longer needed its value has to be written down.

The same risk hangs over current investment. Net property, plant and equipment was $105,414 million at the end of 20254, half the company's assets. Factories built for nodes that customers do not adopt will eventually be written down too.

Write-downs are not new at Intel. It recorded $723 million of inventory impairments in 2022 when it wound down its Optane memory business5, and a goodwill impairment of $2.8 billion in 2024, mostly related to Mobileye6. Each reflects an investment that did not earn what it was expected to.

The warning sign is another year of large Foundry impairments. A charge on 18A or Intel 3 capacity would say the newest factories are not filling up.

References
  1. ReportedIn 2024 Intel Foundry recorded $3.3 billion of non-cash impairments and accelerated depreciation, primarily related to manufacturing assets for its Intel 7 process node, and in 2025 a further $950 million of asset impairments and accelerated depreciation.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 7 MD&A and Note 3: segment revenue, operating income and drivers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIn 2024 Intel Foundry recorded $3.3 billion of non-cash impairments and accelerated depreciation, primarily related to manufacturing assets for its Intel 7 process node, and in 2025 a further $950 million of asset impairments and accelerated depreciation.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 7 MD&A and Note 3: segment revenue, operating income and drivers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIntel estimates that the substantial majority of its consolidated depreciation expense is incurred by Intel Foundry, and when older capacity is no longer needed its value has to be written down.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 7 MD&A and Note 3: segment revenue, operating income and drivers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedNet property, plant and equipment was $105,414 million at the end of 2025, half the company's assets.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedIt recorded $723 million of inventory impairments in 2022 when it wound down its Optane memory business, and a goodwill impairment of $2.8 billion in 2024, mostly related to Mobileye.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - customer concentration naming Dell, Lenovo and HP, headcount, and revenue by billing region including China in 2021. — FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  6. ReportedIt recorded $723 million of inventory impairments in 2022 when it wound down its Optane memory business, and a goodwill impairment of $2.8 billion in 2024, mostly related to Mobileye.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - the 2024 restructuring, dividend suspension, goodwill impairment and headcount. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026