Intel Corp (INTC)

[Unkwn]

Since it is common on this board to brag about one's success stories in his portfolio (and stay muted about the dead ones), I have to mention Samsung again (sorry, guys). The shares are up more than 100% from the time I bought them. Business is going really really well, despite the problems with the Note 7. The reason is simple: more than 60% of earnings come from semiconductors (mainly memory). Samsung also clearly stated that it is watching the supply/demand balance closely and that they don't intend to start a war on prices in the near future. They can easily do this with their around 50% market share. I'd expect memory prices to remain stable at the currently high prices.

What is also interesting is their statement about the LSI (foundry) business:

Now moving onto System LSI business. In the first quarter, we have achieved a favorable result due to an increased sales of APs, DDIs, image sensors for flagship smartphone and steady sales of the 14 nanometer mobile APs for with the low tier. Similar to that of 14 nanometer process, we continue to maintain our technology leadership with the mass production of industry first 10 nanometer processors.
In the second quarter, we will continue to improve the earnings by addressing in increasing demand for 10 nanometer APs and expanding the sales of high profitability LSI products including image sensors and DDIs.
In 2017, we will strive to ensure continuous growth through sustainable supply of 10 nanometer base products and securing stable demand from diversified customers. In addition, to strengthen the base for mid to long-term growth, we will diversify 14 nanometer based product line up to automotive, wearable and IoT and deliver differentiated LSI products such as image sensors and OLED DDIs with innovative technologies. Thank you.

Pretty compact, straight and clear statement. Refreshing compared to Intel's showing off with Moore's law and density claims that just don't hold true on a product level (compare with AMD's processor density for instance, fabbed on the, according to Intel, less dense 14nm process licensed from Samsung). I expect this part of Samsung to also perform really well in the future, next to its striving memory business. Do you really think that TSMC, Intel or anyone else will beat them in this game?

I expect them to keep memory prices elevated to collect the money required for further investments into leading semiconductor processes. In addition, I see quite some synergies between both businesses, between digital foundry and memory chips, though I know there are also big differences, there is also a lot you can share from equipment and R&D point of view. A big advantage to any competitor in the market.

I see no way, after all those missteps from Intel, how they could be able to compete in the longer term.