Intel’s Aging Chips Get Unlikely Second Wind as Trade Wars Escalate

Semiconductor giant rides wave of retro demand—because nothing says ’supply chain resilience’ like dusting off last-gen silicon.

Subheader: Geopolitical chaos creates bizarre market dynamics

While rivals scramble for cutting-edge fabs, Intel quietly moves inventory that should’ve been e-waste by now. Wall Street analysts nod approvingly—after all, repackaging old inventory as ’strategic inventory utilization’ is the kind of financial alchemy that would make a crypto founder blush.

Buyers’ reliance on older chips will limit Intel’s AI PC plans

Analysts say steeper tariffs could stall a recovery in the PC market during the rest of 2025. Intel is counting on new Windows machines with built-in artificial-intelligence features to reignite demand, but lower-priced legacy chips are now taking center stage.

“Demand for older-generation chips is a flashing macro signal,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital. “In a shaky economic climate, ‘good enough’ beats bleeding edge.”

Industry watchers warned that relying on yesterday’s processors may also blur the outlook for upcoming Intel chips designed for AI-enabled PCs. The cheaper parts “are impacting Intel’s bottom line and will likely slow the adoption of more advanced chips for AI PCs,” said Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research.

Recently, China has lifted its 125% retaliatory tariffs on certain semiconductor imports from the United States, according to a report by Chinese business magazine Caijing on Friday, citing industry sources. The report stated that at least eight tariff codes related to integrated circuits (ICs) were exempted from the levies that had been introduced earlier this month in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods. Tariffs on memory chips, however, remain in place.

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