Intel Corp (INTC)

[Unkwn]

So I guess you're saying that by wafer costs you mean to include all other costs as well, designing a chip setting up production capacity the wafer fabbing the chips and packaging and selling.

Well, it's a fact. Part of R&D and CAPEX is baked into wafer costs, basically activating them. They all do this as far as I know.

The fabless ecosystem pays A) less on capex (per unit of capacity) by virtue of staying a bit behind the leading edge, and B) less on R&D than Intel does.

You really are a funny guy. It was you who argued just recently that TSMC is paying more in CAPEX than Intel to keep up with them. It would really suit you to stay with one point, otherwise you're constantly putting yourself more and more into the troll corner.

Regarding R&D: Show me a proof that TSMC is spending less on R&D for process development, will ya?

That's why MediaTek can sell 8 core mobile chips for $10 and still make money.

ARM, their licensees, and the fabs are better at amortizing and spreading costs than Intel is.

Show me the numbers, ok? Mediatek has to pay TSMC its wafer costs and margins up front. From that, they have to add their R&D and other expenses and their margins. Ah, and they have to pay ARM and other IP houses, together with licenses. In your logic, that puts them in a better competitive position than Intel, which collects all those margins and which is willing to keep them nill to win this game (making their high marigin products pay for it, where they have a full monopoly at). Good luck at making a sensible calculation out of this ...