A corporate turnaround is the most difficult maneuver in business: invest heavily in the future while being judged quarter by quarter. Intel is now deep in that crucible, and for the first time in years, the pain is starting to look like progress.
For Intel, this challenge now falls to its new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, who has taken the helm to execute the ambitious IDM 2.0 strategy architected by his predecessor, Pat Gelsinger. Tan, a legendary technologist and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected investors, faces the daily reality of this paradox.
Intel’s recent Q3 2025 financial report is a perfect snapshot of this challenging story of short-term pain that, for the first time in a long time, clearly illuminates a path to long-term victory. The headline numbers were solid. Intel beat expectations on revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share. But frankly, that’s not the real story.
The real story is that this is the fourth consecutive quarter of improved execution, proving the strategy isn’t just a set of slides; it’s a plan in motion under new, steady leadership. More importantly, the report shows why this turnaround is so difficult and why it’s on the right track.
The “bad news” in the report, like a guided-down gross margin for Q4, isn’t a sign of failure. It is the necessary, painful, and deeply positive cost of investment.
Let’s talk about Intel this week, and we’ll close with my Product of the Week: the Wonderfitter M9 Smart VR pistol.
Execution and Credibility: Foundation for a Rebuild
In a turnaround, boring is beautiful. When Pat Gelsinger began this turnaround, Intel was a company that had lost its credibility. It had a long, painful history of missing deadlines, fumbling new process nodes, and losing its manufacturing crown to TSMC. Before Intel could ask the world to believe in its multi-decade foundry ambitions, it first had to prove it could simply do what it said it would do, quarter after quarter.
The Q3 report, under Lip-Bu Tan’s leadership, shows that the turnaround is maintaining its critical momentum. Beating guidance on revenue, margin, and EPS for the fourth consecutive time is the most important signal Intel can send. It tells customers, partners, and investors that the operational chaos is over and the ship, under its new captain, remains steady.
Execution in the core business — selling client (CCG) and data center (DCAI) chips — is the engine that funds the entire revolution. It provides the cash flow to build the massive, multi-billion-dollar fabs that are the heart of the new strategy. Without this disciplined execution, the entire long-term plan is just a fantasy.
The Grand Alliance: Smart Money Is Betting on Intel
The most powerful validation of Intel’s strategy isn’t coming from its own press releases; it’s coming from the wallets of its government, its partners, and even its chief rivals. Tan’s deep history as a venture capitalist and industry connector becomes a massive asset here. The Q3 report was bolstered by a series of massive external investments that fundamentally de-risk the entire turnaround.
First, there is the vital support from the U.S. government. The CHIPS and Science Act funding Intel is receiving isn’t a handout; it’s a cornerstone of national security. The U.S. has recognized the profound strategic risk posed by having 90% of the world’s most advanced chips manufactured in a single location — Taiwan.
Intel is the only U.S.-based company with the R&D and manufacturing scale to break that dependency. The government’s support effectively makes Intel a strategic national asset, insulating its long-term plan from short-term market turbulence.
Second, and perhaps more stunning, is the support from its competitors. Nvidia, the company that has dominated the AI boom, is now a key partner. Nvidia’s recent investment in Intel, alongside others like SoftBank, is a massive vote of confidence.
However, the real story is the strategic collaboration. Nvidia is partnering with Intel to create a new class of x86 products for the AI era, and more importantly, it has signaled a strong interest in using Intel Foundry Services (IFS). Why? Because Nvidia needs a viable alternative to TSMC. The Nvidia-Intel collaboration is the ultimate validation of Intel’s foundry roadmap.
Finally, Intel has smartly monetized its non-core assets by spinning out Altera (its programmable chip division) and Mobileye (its autonomous driving unit) into separate, publicly traded companies. These moves are a smart financing hallmark of Tan’s strategic playbook.
By selling a majority stake in these entities, Intel raised billions in cash to fund the core fab build-out without taking on suffocating new debt, all while retaining valuable partnerships and ownership shares.
Intel’s AI Opportunity
The AI revolution is driving an insatiable, accelerating demand for computing power. Intel’s Q3 report shows it’s finally positioning itself to capture this wave from every possible angle. It’s no longer just about its core x86 platforms. The opportunity now extends to purpose-built ASICs, accelerators like the Gaudi 3, and, most importantly, its foundry services.
Every company racing to build a custom AI chip — be it Microsoft, Google, Amazon, or a new startup — needs someone to manufacture it. Intel is building the factory for the AI gold rush. This is where the foundry strategy comes into full focus. The report’s update on its process roadmap is the most important metric for the company’s future.
The news that Intel’s ambitious 18A process node is advancing as planned is critical because this technology will put Intel back in the lead over TSMC. The fact that Fab 52 in Arizona, where 18A will be manufactured, is now fully operational and on track to bring Panther Lake chips to market this year is the proof of execution investors have been waiting for.
Furthermore, the encouraging early feedback on the next generation, 14A, shows that this isn’t a one-hit wonder. Intel is building a sustainable, long-term pipeline.
Why a Margin Dip Is Good News
Intel’s Q4 guidance illustrates the investing-in-a-turnaround paradox most clearly. The company guided its Gross Margin (GM) down sequentially, a fact that would normally send investors fleeing. But why is Intel guiding down?
1. Strategic Prioritization: The guide shows Data Center (DCAI) revenue up, but Client (CCG) revenue down. This is a deliberate choice. Intel is prioritizing its limited wafer capacity for high-value, high-profit server chips over low-value, entry-level client parts. This is smart, profitable business.
2. Ramping New Products: The guidance cites the “first shipments of Core Ultra 3.” Ramping a brand-new product on a new process is always expensive. Initial manufacturing yields are lower, and startup costs are high. A temporary margin hit from a new product ramp is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of progress.
3. Accounting Changes: The “Altera deconsolidation” (selling a majority stake) means Intel can no longer count Altera’s high-margin revenue on its main balance sheet. This is a simple accounting change, not an operational failure.
The Q4 guidance makes the cost of the turnaround visible. Intel is strategically prioritizing its most profitable products and eating the upfront costs of launching its next generation of chips — precisely what a company in a deep investment cycle is supposed to do.
Wrapping Up
Intel’s Q3 2025 report is one of the most significant and positive in years, precisely because it’s not all rosy. It shows a company executing with discipline under its new leadership, providing the financial stability to fund its own rebirth. It shows the smartest money in the world — from the U.S. government to its chief rival, Nvidia — is now betting on Intel’s success.
The strategy laid out by Pat Gelsinger was bold. However, strategy is nothing without execution and financial discipline. Lip-Bu Tan is arguably the perfect leader for this phase of the plan: a seasoned operator and one of the most respected investors in the industry. He is bringing a new level of financial and partnership-focused discipline to the fight.
Intel’s Q3 2025 report demonstrates that the company is finally making the hard choices, and for the first time in a decade, it looks like those choices are the right ones.
Wonderfitter M9 Smart VR Pistol
Virtual reality has a “feel” problem. We can put on a headset and see astonishing, photorealistic worlds, but the moment we look down at our hands, the illusion shatters. We’re holding two floating, lightweight plastic controllers that look and feel like video game toys.
The tactile disconnect is the last great barrier to true immersion. The new Wonderfitter M9 Smart VR Pistol — currently on sale for $229 — doesn’t just chip away at this barrier; it shatters it with the cold, hard feel of machined metal. It’s a stunning piece of hardware that shows us the real future of VR, even if its software is still racing to catch up.
What Realism Changes in VR
The first time you pick up the M9, you get it. This isn’t a hollow plastic shell that a standard Meta Quest controller snaps into. It’s a 1:1-scale, CNC-machined aluminum replica of the legendary Beretta M9. It has the full weight, heft, and cold-to-the-touch feel of the real firearm.
The “wow factor” isn’t just visual; it’s visceral. The trigger has a clean, mechanical break. The slide reciprocates with a satisfying thwack. The magazine release drops a weighted mag into your palm. This tactile feedback is what VR has been missing. Firing a weapon in-game is no longer a simple button-press; it’s a physical, engaging action that connects your body to the virtual world.
The commitment to realism is what makes accessories like the Wonderfitter M9 Smart VR pistol so crucial to the future of VR gaming. When your virtual self performs an action that your physical body does not, your brain flags it as fake. But when you have to physically rack a slide, drop a magazine, and manage the weight of the object in your hand, the experience becomes exponentially more engaging.
This is why high-end flight simulators have dedicated yokes and racing sims have force-feedback wheels. The success of VR, especially in the shooter and simulation genres, will be directly tied to closing this “immersion gap.” The Wonderfitter M9 is a massive leap in the right direction.
Where the Limits Still Show
However, the M9’s primary shortfall is that the hardware is writing a check that the current software ecosystem can’t quite cash. Because it’s a third-party accessory that “borrows” the tracking puck from a standard controller, the integration isn’t always seamless.
Out of the box, it may be supported only by a handful of dedicated simulation titles, such as Onward or Pavlov VR. For many other games, getting it to work requires diving into complex settings menus or using third-party configuration tools, which can be a massive headache for the average user.
This software problem is solvable and, almost certainly, temporary. As high-fidelity accessories become more popular, game developers will be incentivized to add native support for them. We will see driver-level improvements and simpler setup wizards.
The hardware, on the other hand, is the real breakthrough. The Wonderfitter M9 is a pro-level tool for the serious VR enthusiast who wants to move beyond “playing a game” and into “running a simulation.” It’s an easy pick for me to showcase because it’s not just a great accessory; it’s a tangible glimpse of a future where the virtual world has real, undeniable weight.
The Wonderfitter M9 Smart VR Pistol is now one of the coolest virtual reality accessories I own — and my Product of the Week.
