Intel’s most advanced chip-making technology, the 18A process slated to underpin next year’s “Panther Lake” laptop processors, is still producing yields in the single digits, according to people briefed on internal test data cited by Reuters. Roughly 5% of wafers met company specifications in late 2024 and only about 10% did so by this summer, leaving defect levels roughly three times higher than the industry benchmark for starting high-volume production. The disappointing yields threaten Intel’s plan to restore its manufacturing edge, woo outside customers and improve profitability. Historically, the company has waited until yields top 50% before ramping a new node and does not earn the bulk of its profit until yields reach 70%–80%. Without a rapid jump, Intel may be forced to ship Panther Lake chips at slimmer margins or losses, eroding returns on the billions of dollars it has poured into new U.S. fabs and risk production for 18A’s novel RibbonFET transistors and PowerVia power-delivery scheme. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told Reuters the reported percentages understate current performance, saying yields are “better than that” and improving monthly, with production-level yields expected by year-end. Intel maintains that Panther Lake remains “fully on track” for a 2025 launch. The outcome is pivotal: management has warned that failure to secure external orders for 18A’s successor, the 14A node, could force the company to abandon leading-edge manufacturing altogether, ceding further ground to dominant rival TSMC.