Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is running out of room to grow. Sluggish demand for PCs, which have long upgrade cycles and are being displaced by tablets and phones, have caused sales of its PC chips to slow to a crawl.
Its ill-fated attempt to enter mobile chips by subsidizing partners resulted in billions wasted for less than a 1% market share. Sales of data center chips, meanwhile, have been growing well below its estimated annual growth rate of 15% between 2015 and 2019, and its non-volatile memory business has been posting top- and bottom-line declines.