At first glance, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) might seem like a reliable long-term investment. It's the world's largest producer of x86 CPUs for PCs and servers, it's firmly profitable, and it pays consistent dividends. But if you had invested $3,000 in Intel on the first trading day of 2015, your investment would only be worth about $2,300 today.

If you had invested $3,000 into Intel's rival Advanced Micro Devices instead, your investment would be worth roughly $78,000. A $3,000 investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), Intel's top competitor in the foundry market, would also have blossomed into nearly $11,000. So why did Intel underperform its industry peers by such a wide margin? 

Image source: Intel.

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Source Fool.com