Major ClientsNarrow moat

Intel (INTC) — moat facet

Three PC makers buy 43% of what Intel sells, China buys about half what it did in 2021, and Intel discloses no backlog beyond $1.7 billion of deposits.

Intel sells to a small number of very large manufacturers, and it discloses how concentrated they are. Its three largest customers accounted for 43% of net revenue in 2025, 45% in 2024 and 40% in 20231. The 2025 filing does not name them, but the 2023 filing did: Dell at 19%, Lenovo at 11% and HP at 10%2. Intel lists customer concentration and the use of distributors among the factors that could affect its results3.

Three largest customers, share of revenue (%)40%202345%202443%2025Intel Form 10-K FY2025; named in the FY2023 10-K as Dell, Lenovo and HP
Three buyers, two-fifths of revenue.

Where the chips are billed has shifted. Revenue billed in China was $22,961 million in 20214 and $12,694 million in 20255, and the United States, at $15,757 million, became the largest billing region in 20256. Billing location reflects where PC and server makers are invoiced, not where machines are sold, but the fall in China is large.

Backlog concentration is a separate question, and here Intel discloses little. Its filings describe no remaining performance obligation total for product sales. What they do show is a new kind of commitment: in the first quarter of 2026 Intel entered long-term arrangements with customers that included deposits totalling $1.7 billion7. Customers prepay only when supply is scarce.

The foundry business has its own client list, and it is short. External foundry revenue was $293 million in the second quarter of 2026, primarily because of Altera's transition to an external customer8. Intel still owns 49% of Altera9.

Intel's customers also include the companies it indemnifies. A patent holder filed eleven complaints from April 2024 against Intel and AMD customers, and Intel is indemnifying Acer, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, HPE, HPI, IBM, Lenovo and Oracle10. The list doubles as a map of who buys Intel's chips in volume: the same PC makers and cloud companies whose purchasing decisions set the franchise's share.

Intel's customers are concentrated and powerful, and for now short of chips. The number that measures the balance of power is the three-customer share, 43% in 2025; a rise above 45% would mean more of Intel's revenue depends on buyers who also build machines with AMD processors.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Concentration steady at 40-45%; China billing falling; customers prepaying in a shortage.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Three largest customers' share of revenue
43% (2025); 45% in 2024; 40% in 2023

Dependence on a few PC makers who also buy from AMD; a rise above 45% would give them more leverage.

Source: Intel Form 10-K, FY2025 ↗
Dig deeper
DIG DEEPER 01
Dell, Lenovo and HP: Forty-Three Percent
Dell, Lenovo and HP bought more than two-fifths of Intel's output, and all three also sell machines with AMD inside.
DIG DEEPER 02
China: Half What It Was in 2021
Intel billed $23 billion in China in 2021 and $12.7 billion in 2025.
DIG DEEPER 03
Deposits of $1.7 Billion and No Backlog Disclosed
In 2026 Intel's customers paid $1.7 billion in advance to secure chips, the clearest sign yet that supply, not demand, limits its sales.
DIG DEEPER 04
Altera: The Foundry Customer Intel Half-Owns
Intel's foundry revenue from outside customers rose in 2026, mostly because Altera, which Intel still half-owns, now counts as one.
References
  1. ReportedIts three largest customers accounted for 43% of net revenue in 2025, 45% in 2024 and 40% in 2023.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe 2025 filing does not name them, but the 2023 filing did: Dell at 19%, Lenovo at 11% and HP at 10%.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - customer concentration naming Dell, Lenovo and HP, headcount, and revenue by billing region including China in 2021. — FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIntel lists customer concentration and the use of distributors among the factors that could affect its results.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedRevenue billed in China was $22,961 million in 2021 and $12,694 million in 2025, and the United States, at $15,757 million, became the largest billing region in 2025.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - customer concentration naming Dell, Lenovo and HP, headcount, and revenue by billing region including China in 2021. — FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  5. ReportedRevenue billed in China was $22,961 million in 2021 and $12,694 million in 2025, and the United States, at $15,757 million, became the largest billing region in 2025.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedRevenue billed in China was $22,961 million in 2021 and $12,694 million in 2025, and the United States, at $15,757 million, became the largest billing region in 2025.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1 business: products, process technology, competition, manufacturing and customers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedWhat they do show is a new kind of commitment: in the first quarter of 2026 Intel entered long-term arrangements with customers that included deposits totalling $1.7 billion.
    Intel Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 27 June 2026 - segments, the Ireland SCIP repurchase, escrowed shares, Intel 14A, customer deposits and debt. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedExternal foundry revenue was $293 million in the second quarter of 2026, primarily because of Altera's transition to an external customer.
    Intel Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 27 June 2026 - segments, the Ireland SCIP repurchase, escrowed shares, Intel 14A, customer deposits and debt. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedIntel still owns 49% of Altera.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 7 MD&A and Note 3: segment revenue, operating income and drivers. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedA patent holder filed eleven complaints from April 2024 against Intel and AMD customers, and Intel is indemnifying Acer, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, HPE, HPI, IBM, Lenovo and Oracle.
    Intel Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 27 December 2025) - Item 1A risk factors and legal proceedings. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026