Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is finally taking steps that its scrappy underdog competitor Advanced Micro Devices took over a decade ago: It will be creating some separation between its chip manufacturing and chip design departments. Ultimately, there will still be one Intel versus the case AMD and GlobalFoundries, which is now an entirely separate entity, with the chipmaker being fully released into the wild in 2012. (GlobalFoundries became a separate entity in 2009, and AMD sold off its last equity stake in it three years later.)  

For now, Intel's move will give investors an uncomfortable look at the ugly financials of its Foundry Services (IFS) manufacturing business. The good news is that, eventually, things should improve for IFS. But it will take time, and the picture won't be pretty anytime soon.

After years of rapid changes in the semiconductor industry, as well as some internal missteps at Intel, the company is struggling. It lost its crown as the top chip designer and manufacturer, and it's losing lots of money. 

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Source Fool.com