Intel

Intel, the largest chip maker in America, with 2023 revenues of $54 billion, has just been awarded an $8.5 billion grant from the federal CHIPS and Science Act, plus $11 billion in favorable loans. In addition to badly needed microchips, Intel produces totally useless stock buybacks. On its website the company proudly proclaims to have spent $152 billion on stock buybacks since 1990. That’s not a typo — $152,000,000,000. Which is why I call it Stock Buybacks Я Us. Intel took $152 billion of its revenues, some portion of which could have been used for R&D and building new microchip facilities in the U.S.