Intel XEON 6 Gaining Solid Market Traction: Will the Uptrend Persist?

Intel Corporation INTC is witnessing healthy demand for its Xeon 6 processor in high-performance computing (“HPC”) and AI-driven workloads. The new Intel Xeon 6 processors with Performance-cores are engineered to support the huge demand for high AI workloads across diverse sectors. The solution’s built-in accelerators support virtualized radio access networks, media, AI and network security. This matches the growing demand for network and edge solutions in the AI ecosystem. 

The company also integrated Priority Core Turbo (“PCT”) technology and Intel Speed Select Technology – Turbo Frequency (SST-TF). The technology dynamically prioritizes certain performance cores, allowing them to run at higher turbo frequencies, and in parallel, lower priority cores operate at a base frequency. PCT paired with SST-TF optimizes utilization of CPU resources, enhancing performance of graphical processing units for the most demanding AI workloads.

The processor offers significantly faster memory performance at high-capacity configurations compared with its competitor Advanced Micro Devices’ AMD EPYC processor. Up to 128 P-cores per CPU facilitate a balanced workload distribution for AI tasks. With the most efficient data processing and transfer capabilities, these CPUs are built for maximum uptime with unmatched reliability and serviceability.

This cutting-edge feature suite is giving Intel a competitive edge over its competitors, such as AMD. The growing demand for processors based on Arm Holdings ARM architecture is also intensifying the competition. Arm’s architecture offers energy efficiency with cost effectiveness, which is increasingly used by Apple, Qualcomm and Ampere. The company is actively collaborating with developers to optimize AI-ML workloads in its CPUs. Google Cloud also leveraged Arm-based processors for Axion chips for data centers. 

On the other hand, AMD EPYC 9005 series, engineered with very high core counts, is also gaining solid momentum. The company’s partnership with leading hyperscalers such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Google Cloud is driving demand for AMD EYPC CPUs.

Amid such competition, Intel is taking several initiatives to gain a firmer footing in the expansive AI sector, which spans cloud and enterprise servers, networks, volume clients and ubiquitous edge environments, in tune with the evolving market dynamics. Introduction of cutting-edge features in the Intel Xeon 6 processors in recent months is aligned with that broader strategy. 

Intel Xeon 6 has been selected as the host CPU for NVIDIA’s latest generation of AI-accelerated systems, the DGX B300. The endorsement of NVIDIA accentuates the growing prowess of Intel chips for AI-accelerated systems. Recently, Imperial College London selected Intel XEON 6 to power its new HX2 supercomputer. Intel CPU will support high-performance computing and AI requirements for research in a wide range of fields, including engineering, natural sciences, medicine, business and others.

INTC’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Intel has plunged 32.4% over the past year against the industry’s growth of 7.3%.

Going by the price/book ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 0.85 book value, lower than 31.35 of the industry and its mean of 0.88. It carries a Value Score of D.

Earnings estimates for Intel for 2025 and 2026 have declined 40.8% to 29 cents per share and 31.2% to 77 cents, respectively, over the past year.

Intel stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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