Compare · Technology
Intel vs. NVIDIA: how they make money
The same facts for both companies, in the same order, from each company's own page and filings. This is not a ranking and says nothing about which share to own.
Each company in 5 points
Intel
1 · What it sells
Intel designs and makes CPUs, the main processor chips in PCs and servers, with net revenue of $52.9 billion in FY2025.
Sources and detail on the Intel page2 · Who pays it
In FY2025 Intel's three largest customers, which it does not name, paid 19%, 12% and 12% of net revenue, and all other customers paid 57%.
Sources and detail on the Intel page3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 that came in during FY2025, Intel's shareholders lost $0.5 even with a one-off $5.6 billion Altera gain, and the operating loss was $4.2 per $100 of revenue.
Sources and detail on the Intel page4 · Where the operating profit comes from
In FY2025 Intel Products earned $12.7 billion of operating income, while Intel Foundry lost $10.3 billion and unallocated corporate costs took $5.5 billion.
Sources and detail on the Intel page5 · The one thing to watch
In Q3 FY2026 Intel Foundry lost $1.9 billion on $6.7 billion of revenue, of which $411 million came from outside customers.
Sources and detail on the Intel page
NVIDIA
1 · What it sells
NVIDIA designs GPUs (chips that do many calculations at once, which suits AI), networking gear and complete AI server systems, plus graphics chips for gaming PCs, and had $215.9 billion of revenue in FY2026.
Sources and detail on the NVIDIA page2 · Who pays it
In FY2026, customers headquartered in the US paid 69.3% of NVIDIA's revenue, those in Taiwan 19.6%, those in China including Hong Kong 9.1% and those elsewhere 2.0%.
Sources and detail on the NVIDIA page3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 that came in during FY2026, NVIDIA kept $52.8 as net income, including interest and gains on its stakes in other companies, while its operating income, before interest and tax, was $60.4 per $100 of revenue.
Sources and detail on the NVIDIA page4 · Where the operating profit comes from
In FY2026 the Compute & Networking segment (mainly data center chips, systems and networking) earned $130.1 billion of operating profit before stock-based pay and some company-wide costs, against $9.2 billion for Graphics.
Sources and detail on the NVIDIA page5 · The one thing to watch
NVIDIA's commitments to buy supply and capacity were $279 billion on Jul 26, 2026, up from $95.2 billion in January 2026.
Sources and detail on the NVIDIA page
Where each $100 went
Each company's own receipt for its latest full fiscal year, with matching lines in the same order where both have them.
Intel
Where $100 went · FY2025
| Research and development | $24.3 |
|---|---|
| Making and buying chips (cost of sales) | $60.9 |
| Marketing, general and admin | $8.2 |
| Restructuring and other charges | $3.9 |
| Owed to noncontrolling holders | $0.5 |
| Income tax | $2.7 |
| Net loss for Intel's shareholders | −$0.5 |
| Total | $100 |
Cityfort calculation from FY2025 10-K. Of every $100 that came in during FY2025 (net revenue plus $3.8 billion of investment gains, interest and other): each line = line ÷ $56.6 billion × 100. The money in includes a one-off $5.6 billion gain on selling 51% of Altera. Noncontrolling holders are outside owners of parts of Intel's units.
NVIDIA
Where $100 went · FY2026
| Research and development | $8.1 |
|---|---|
| Making the products | $27.5 |
| Sales and administration | $2.0 |
| Income tax and interest | $9.5 |
| Kept as profit | $52.8 |
| Total | $100 |
Cityfort calculation from FY2026 10-K. Of every $100 that came in during FY2026 (revenue plus interest and investment gains), each line = cost ÷ $227.3 billion × 100. Wear-and-tear of equipment ($2.8 billion) sits inside the cost lines.
Line items differ because each company groups its costs its own way in its filings. Only on Intel's receipt: Making and buying chips (cost of sales); Marketing, general and admin; Restructuring and other charges; Income tax; Owed to noncontrolling holders; Net loss for Intel's shareholders. Only on NVIDIA's receipt: Making the products; Sales and administration; Income tax and interest; Kept as profit.
Revenue, net income and free cash flow
Up to five fiscal years for each company, drawn on one shared scale per measure. Amounts in US$ as reported (GAAP).
Revenue
Intel
NVIDIA
See the numbers
Net income
Intel
NVIDIA
See the numbers
Free cash flow
Intel
NVIDIA
See the numbers
Who pays each company
Intel
- Largest customer · 19.0% of revenueUnnamed in the filing (Customer A). Substantially all revenue from the top three comes from Intel Products.
- Second-largest customer · 12.0% of revenueUnnamed in the filing (Customer B).
- Third-largest customer · 12.0% of revenueUnnamed in the filing (Customer C).
- All other customers · 57.0% of revenueOther PC makers, distributors, cloud companies and equipment makers. Intel does not report revenue by type of customer.
NVIDIA
- Cloud service providers and AI developersBuy Data Center chips, systems and networking to build the computers that train and run AI models. NVIDIA does not split revenue by customer type.
- Computer makers and system integratorsOEMs and ODMs (brand and contract computer makers) and integrators build servers, PCs and workstations around NVIDIA chips and resell them.
- Add-in board makers and distributorsAdd-in board makers turn GeForce chips into graphics cards; distributors resell NVIDIA products.
- Indirect: an AI research and deployment companyNVIDIA says one AI research and deployment company contributed a meaningful amount of its revenue by buying cloud services from NVIDIA's customers. It gives no share.
Revenue by segment
Intel
FY2025
| Segment | Revenue | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Client Computing and Physical AI (CCPG) | $32.2B | 61.0% |
| Data Center and AI (DCAI) | $16.9B | 32.0% |
| Intel Foundry | $17.8B | 0.6% |
| All other (Mobileye, IMS and others) | $3.6B | 6.7% |
NVIDIA
FY2026
| Segment | Revenue | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Compute & Networking | $193.5B | 89.6% |
| Graphics | $22.5B | 10.4% |
Debt and cash
Intel
- Debt
- $50.1B
- Cash and investments
- $54.0B
On Sep 26, 2026.
At Sep 26, 2026 Intel's cash and short-term investments were $3.9 billion more than its $50.1 billion of debt; at Dec 27, 2025 debt was $9.2 billion more than cash.
NVIDIA
- Debt
- $33.4B
- Cash and investments
- $56.6B
On Jul 26, 2026.
On Jul 26, 2026 NVIDIA had $56.6 billion of cash and debt securities and $33.4 billion of notes: $23.2 billion of net cash.
Who owns each company
Intel
- One class of shares.
- US Government (Department of Commerce): 8.4% (as of Mar 20, 2026).
- The Vanguard Group: 8.1% (as of Dec 31, 2025).
- BlackRock, Inc.: 6.8% (as of Jan 25, 2024).
- 1 more holders on the Intel page.
NVIDIA
- One class of shares.
- Officers and directors as a group: 3.9% of shares (as of Mar 23, 2026).
- BlackRock, Inc.: 7.4% (as of Mar 23, 2026).
- Vanguard Capital Management: 7.3% (as of Mar 23, 2026).
Risks only one page tracks
Risks whose type the other company's page does not list. Both pages track risks of these types: execution, competition, customer or supplier concentration, demand. Every risk is on each company's page.
Intel
- Net income moves with Intel's own share price (other)Shares in escrow for the US Government are a liability that is revalued each quarter. A rising share price brings a non-cash loss and a falling price a gain: −$12.5 billion in Q2 FY2026, +$1.0 billion in Q3 FY2026.
- Israel factory and regional conflict (other)A mid-October 2026 accident at Intel's Kiryat Gat factory caused casualties and halted output for about two weeks. The 10-Q says a significant part of revenue comes from Intel 7 chips made there, and Intel is not insured for war-related interruption. It also describes the conflict with Iran as a risk to that factory.
- Debt, patent cases and a Mobileye writedown (legal cases)Debt was $50.1 billion at Sep 26, 2026. Intel accrued about $1.0 billion for VLSI patent cases, where one Texas jury awarded about $949 million with no final judgment yet. After a $3.9 billion charge in Q1 FY2026, Mobileye's goodwill (the premium paid for an acquisition) is $4.3 billion, with fair value less than 10% above carrying value.
NVIDIA
- US and China rules limit NVIDIA's China data center sales (regulation)Since 2022 the US has required licenses for NVIDIA's top data center chips sold to China. A rule on H20 chips in April 2025 led to a $4.5 billion charge. NVIDIA says it was effectively foreclosed from China's data center compute market. China revenue fell from $25.0 billion in FY2025 to $19.7 billion in FY2026.
- Contingent guaranties for OpenAI-leased data centers (debt)NVIDIA backs lease values on about 4.25 GW of SB Energy data centers in Ohio, with an OpenAI affiliate as tenant. It pays only if the tenant becomes insolvent or does not pay. Exposure is capped at $105 billion, starts as leases begin (from FY2029) and OpenAI agreed to reimburse NVIDIA.
- Stakes in other companies swing reported profit (other)On Jul 26, 2026 NVIDIA held $42.8 billion of listed stakes and $51.2 billion of unlisted ones. Gains on them were $15.9 billion in Q1 FY2027 and $7.8 billion in Q2, counted in net income.
Sources: Intel S6, S7, S1 · NVIDIA S35, S30, S19, S1, S6, S27, S9, S11
Key facts
- How does Intel make money compared with NVIDIA?
- Intel's revenue by segment in FY2025: Client Computing and Physical AI (CCPG) 61.0%, Data Center and AI (DCAI) 32.0%, Intel Foundry 0.6%, All other (Mobileye, IMS and others) 6.7%. NVIDIA's revenue by segment in FY2026: Compute & Networking 89.6%, Graphics 10.4%.
- Which is bigger by revenue, Intel or NVIDIA?
- Intel reported $52.9B of revenue in FY2025, and NVIDIA reported $215.9B in FY2026. The two fiscal years end in different months.
- How much net income did Intel and NVIDIA report?
- Intel reported net income of −$267M in FY2025, and NVIDIA reported $120.1B in FY2026.
- How much of every $100 did Intel and NVIDIA keep as net income?
- Intel kept −$0.5 of every $100 that came in during FY2025, and NVIDIA kept $52.8 in FY2026 (Cityfort calculation from each company's annual report).
- How much debt and cash do Intel and NVIDIA have?
- Intel had $50.1B of debt and $54.0B of cash and investments on Sep 26, 2026. NVIDIA had $33.4B of debt and $56.6B of cash and investments on Jul 26, 2026.
- When do Intel's and NVIDIA's fiscal years end?
- Intel: Fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of December (FY2022 had 53 weeks). NVIDIA: Fiscal year ends on the last Sunday of January.
Sources: Intel S3, S1, S14, S6 · NVIDIA S3, S32, S2, S1, S6, S9, S10, S28, S27
Built from each company's page. Intel updated Nov 1, 2026; NVIDIA updated Nov 6, 2026.
Sources
Intel
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal 2025 (ended Dec 27, 2025), Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Jan 23, 2026
- S3Form 10-K, fiscal 2023 (ended Dec 30, 2023), Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Jan 26, 2024
- S6Form 10-Q, Q3 2026 (ended Sep 26, 2026), Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 30, 2026
- S7Form 10-Q, Q2 2026 (ended Jun 27, 2026), Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Jul 24, 2026
- S14Earnings release, Q3 2026 (8-K Ex. 99.1), Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 29, 2026
- S24Proxy statement (DEF 14A), 2026 annual meeting, Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Mar 23, 2026
- S27Schedule 13G/A, The Vanguard Group (realignment, zero shares), SEC EDGAR, Mar 27, 2026
- S28Schedule 13G/A, The Vanguard Group (Dec 31, 2025), SEC EDGAR, Jan 30, 2026
- S29Form 8-K, US Government Warrant and Common Stock Agreement, Intel Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 25, 2025
NVIDIA
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal year 2026 (ended Jan 25, 2026), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Feb 25, 2026
- S2Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Jan 26, 2025), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Feb 26, 2025
- S3Form 10-K, fiscal year 2024 (ended Jan 28, 2024), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Feb 21, 2024
- S6Form 10-Q, Q2 fiscal 2027 (quarter ended Jul 26, 2026), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 26, 2026
- S9Q2 fiscal 2027 earnings press release (Form 8-K Ex. 99.1), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 26, 2026
- S10CFO Commentary on Q2 fiscal 2027 results (Form 8-K Ex. 99.2), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 26, 2026
- S11Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings press release (Form 8-K Ex. 99.1), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), May 20, 2026
- S19Q1 fiscal 2026 earnings press release (Form 8-K Ex. 99.1), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), May 28, 2025
- S252026 Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), May 12, 2026
- S27Form 8-K (Items 1.01, 2.03): SB Energy residual value guaranties, PORTS campus (OpenAI tenant), NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 17, 2026
- S28Form 8-K (Item 8.01): completion of $25.0 billion senior notes offering, NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Jun 18, 2026
- S30Form 8-K (Item 8.01): H20 export license requirement and expected Q1 FY2026 charges, NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Apr 15, 2025
- S32Form 8-K (Item 5.03): ten-for-one stock split effective Jun 7, 2024, NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Jun 7, 2024
- S35Form 8-K (Item 8.01): August 2022 license requirement for A100/H100 exports to China and Russia, NVIDIA Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 31, 2022
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