Can Intel’s new CEO make a difference?

New year, new CEO. Can Lip-Bu Tan make a difference for Intel (Intel Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:INTC).

Analyst Suji Desilva is taking a wait and see approach to INTC -the analyst April 4 maintained his “Neutral” rating and $20.00 price target on the stock- but he like some of what he sees from the new leader.

ON March 12, Intel announced that Lip-Bu Tan would take the helm of the company as CEO.

“Lip-Bu is an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO,” Yeary said. “Throughout his long and distinguished career, he has earned a reputation as an innovator who puts customers at the heart of everything he does, delivers differentiated solutions to win in the market and builds high-performance cultures to achieve success.

Desilva says there is some reason for optimism around the development.

“We are encouraged by new INTC CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s focus on under-promising in the early part of the company’s turnaround, emphasizing rebuilding customer trust through a more engineering-led culture going forward,” the analyst wrote. “We believe INTC will fuel its turnaround with more agile/flexible product development and a software-first hardware design philosophy. Specifically, we expect thematic cornerstone investments across AI, integrated optics/connectivity, and leading-edge manufacturing to focus on improving customer infrastructure buildout TCO.”

Desilva thinks INTC will post Non-GAAP EPS of $0.22 on revenue of $52-billion in fiscal 2025. He expects EPS of $1.04 on revenue of $56.5-billion in fiscal 2026.

“Our price target of $20 represents a CY26E P/E of 20x, in-line versus overall semiconductor large-cap median of ~20x reflecting recovery opportunity for the company,” the analyst concluded.