INTC
Intel Corporation
INTC has the edge over PLAB overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
PLAB
Photronics, Inc.
PLAB has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
INTC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
INTC's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its profitability is under pressure.
PLAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLAB's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its revenue is stable.
INTC PE Valuation
INTC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PLAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 9.9x | $27.88 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $28.49 | +2.2% |
| Fair | 13x | $37.09 | +33% |
| Forward | 13x | $27.88 | — |
| Expensive | 22x | $62.33 | +124% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLAB's PE is in its cheap range at 9.8x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 13x, in its fair range.
INTC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Low |
INTC has the edge over PLAB on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
PLAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect PLAB's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
INTC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.41 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$2.39 | -24000% |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.09 | +$2.68 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.60 | +$3.88 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.06 | +$4.32 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.01 | +$3.72 |
| Q2 2025 | -$4.77 | -2088% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.48 | -562% |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.38 | -1195% |
INTC has swung to a loss: it lost $2.39 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
PLAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.09 | -26% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.83 | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.73 | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.34 | -0.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.28 | +9.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.76 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.92 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.35 | +5.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.09 | +3% |
PLAB has the edge over INTC on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
INTC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $16.5B | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $16.1B | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.6B | +7.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.7B | -4.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.7B | +2.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.9B | +0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.7B | -0.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.3B | -7.4% |
INTC has the edge over PLAB on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +10 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +36 points |
| Q1 2026 | -23% | -21 points |
| Q4 2025 | 4.2% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 5% | +73 points |
| Q2 2025 | -25% | -9.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -2.4% | +6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9% | -14 points |
INTC's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 10 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PLAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $216M | +2.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $209.9M | -0.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $225.1M | +6.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $215.8M | -3.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $210.4M | -0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $211M | -2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $212.1M | -1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $222.6M | -2.1% |
PLAB's revenue grew through 2022 and has held roughly level since: $216M last quarter, up 2.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 21% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | -6.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 24% | -0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 26% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 25% | -2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 25% | -3.4 points |
PLAB has the edge over INTC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
INTC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +774% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.5B | +$6B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.5B | +$1.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $800M | +$3.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $121M | +$2.5B |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.5B | +$1.9B |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.4B | +$2.8B |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.7B | -$597M |
INTC has the edge over PLAB on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PLAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $39.4M | +56% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2M | +$30.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $49.6M | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $20.3M | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.2M | -50% |
| Q2 2025 | -$29.1M | -152% |
| Q1 2025 | $43.3M | +$45.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $25.2M | -54% |
PLAB still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $110M over the past year.
INTC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 69.6x | High |
| Q3 2024 | 23.8x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 4.3x | High |
INTC's net debt is about 2.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.0 years a year ago.
PLAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
PLAB has the edge over INTC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
INTC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 7.7 | Oversold |
INTC's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
PLAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.9 | Oversold |
PLAB's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
INTC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | INTC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
INTC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PLAB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 9.9x | 28x | 65% below |
| PE % | 14 | 35 | 21 pts below |
PLAB is trading at 9.8x earnings, a 65% discount to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
INTC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $88.4 | 31% below |
| 20 week MA | $95.3 | 36% below |
| 50 week MA | $79.3 | 23% below |
| 100 week MA | $52.1 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $42.5 | 44% above |
INTC has the edge over PLAB on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PLAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $28.8 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $29.5 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $34.6 | 19% below |
| 100 week MA | $27.9 | 0.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $25.7 | 8.3% above |
PLAB has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 8.3% above its 200-week average.
INTC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $60.1 | $47.1 | -22% |
| 2021 | $47.1 | $51.3 | +9% |
| 2022 | $51.3 | $26.1 | -49% |
| 2023 | $26.1 | $50.3 | +93% |
| 2024 | $50.3 | $20.3 | -60% |
| 2025 | $20.3 | $36.2 | +78% |
| 2026 YTD | $36.2 | $61.2 | +69% |
INTC has the edge over PLAB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.8 | $11.0 | -30% |
| 2021 | $11.0 | $18.5 | +68% |
| 2022 | $18.5 | $16.4 | -11% |
| 2023 | $16.4 | $31.4 | +91% |
| 2024 | $31.4 | $23.9 | -24% |
| 2025 | $23.9 | $33.7 | +41% |
| 2026 YTD | $33.7 | $27.9 | -17% |
PLAB has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 17% so far in 2026.