Is Intel Corporation (INTC) a Buy?

The closest peer for Intel is Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD), and we can also compare it to Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDQ:TXN) and to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) given those two companies’ exposure to shifting consumer tastes. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is coming off a big earnings miss, which sent the stock down about 10%. It now carries trailing and forward P/Es of 12 and 10, respectively, though we would be wary of the company’s recent performance and the fact that earnings are likely to be temporarily higher thanks to new versions of Windows and Office. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) has also struggled recently, with adjusted earnings being negative each of the last four quarters and with analysts expecting net losses for this year as well. Revenue has been down over 10% from its levels a year ago, and 16% of the float is held short as many market players are bearish on the company.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) managed to improve on both top and bottom lines in its most recent quarter compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, but the sell-side considers the company’s growth short lived: they expect earnings per share to be lower in the fiscal year ending in January 2015 than what Nvidia has done on a trailing basis. With the forward earnings multiple being 17 investors should probably avoid the stock for now. Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDQ:TXN) has been seeing weak revenue numbers, with little change in operating profit. The stock is valued at more than 20 times trailing earnings, a pricing which seems somewhat aggressive and certainly depends on the company delivering higher profits in the future. It does offer a dividend yield of 3%, but the combination of its recent financial performance and its valuation is not appealing.

Intel generally trades at a discount to its peers, whose valuations are often at a level where investors are counting on increased earnings going forward. In absolute terms, however, the valuation of 12 times trailing earnings is tough to justify considering that financials have been weak recently and that this can be attributed to what are likely to be permanent shifts in the consumer technology landscape. Buybacks can help but would not be enough by themselves to reverse the impact on EPS of continued declines in Intel’s business.

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.