Intel paid $15B for Mobileye — and wrote the bet down from both sides

Intel bought driver-assistance chipmaker Mobileye in 2017 for $15 billion and returned it to the markets with a 2022 IPO that valued it at $17 billion. Two years later the bet was underwater: by the third quarter of 2024 Mobileye's shares had fallen 71% that year to $12.40, leaving a market value of about $10.1 billion — below book equity, which forced an interim impairment test.

Intel's Q3 results, reported on 31 October 2024, absorbed the hit: revenue of $13.3 billion, down 6%, and a GAAP net loss of roughly $16.6 billion attributable to Intel, with $15.9 billion of impairments — including $2.9 billion of goodwill and acquired intangibles, primarily in the Mobileye reporting unit, $3.1 billion on Intel 7 manufacturing assets and a $9.9 billion tax valuation allowance — plus $2.8 billion of restructuring. Chief executive Pat Gelsinger called the effort 'one of the most seminal restructuring processes' since Intel's founding; the stock was down about 57% for the year.

Then Mobileye's own results wrote the same premium down a second time: a $2.7 billion goodwill impairment — the goodwill that originated in Intel's acquisition and had been pushed onto Mobileye's balance sheet at the IPO. Third-quarter revenue fell 8.3% to $486 million, with year-to-date revenue down 19.3%, and chief executive Amnon Shashua conceded a 'challenging' near term. One acquisition, two balance sheets, one shrinking market.