What the company does:  From the first step 100, we went to the Google Finance Company Profile page for Intel and scrolled down to the see, "Business Summary", where we learned that Intel is a company that designs, manufactures and sells integrated computer circuits and microprocessors across several different device markets. [Yahoo! Finance link - here >]

Company Overview/Website's "About Us" section:  Although the source is the company itself, you can learn much more about the business they're in by going to the "About Us" page that every website should have.  We found that Intel stresses innovation through technology leadership, indicating seven key areas: 

• Architecture and Silicon Technology (microprocessors, new silicon conductive methods)

• Product Technologies (new applications, graphics and chipsets)

• Manufacturing (new production techniques)

• Research (to enhance mobile devices, smaller more efficient computing)

• Standards (adhering to globally-used standards for compatibility, broad-based adoption)

• Quality and Reliability (quality control protocols, world-class performance and consistency)

• Moore’s Law (Intel co-founder, Gordon Moore's "law" that the number of transistors on a chip will double about every two years (increased performance at relatively decreasing cost, and how they have kept pace with that prediction)

[Intel.com website - "About Us" link - here >]

Official Annual Report (10-K) indications:  Every publicly-traded company is now required to have a dedicated area on their website called "Investor Relations." It is there that we found the link, "Financials and Filings" (>then "SEC Filings") and were able to locate the latest "10-K" or Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Here we found that the first section is labeled, "Business" and describes the business they are in, and that they are the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, primarily developing integrated circuits for the computing and communications industries.

Here is where the official "Company Organization" is indicated, into nine operating segments:

• PC Client Group

• Data Center Group

• Embedded and Communications Group

• Digital Home Group

• Ultra-Mobility Group

• NAND Solutions Group

• Wind River Software Group

• Software and Services Group

• Digital Health Group

Although these reports typically cause one's eyes to glaze over in boredom, you need to be disciplined to understand what they include.  For example, we skimmed through the headings and found "Revenue by Major Operating Segment."  This indicated, that Intel's "PC Client Group" has consistently dominated their revenue streams with about 71-75% of their revenue over the last three years.  This segment provides microprocessors and chipsets for netbooks, laptops, and desktop PCs.  This could indicate a vulnerability to their future sales, as more and more people use mobile devices, or smartphones, for more of their computing time, unless Intel is moving with strong Research and Development into that area.  You can read more of their annual report (10-K) and subsequent quarterly reports (10-Q) to find out.
                                                           [Intel.com - "Investor Relations" link - here >]

In the next step, we learn how to examine these areas as we look in which industry and sectors your company participates.   [Note:  the timing of your evaluation of this Annual Report (or Quarterly Report, or 10-Q) may be just before a more recent report is about to be released.  Typically, annual reports are released with the 4th quarter earnings call scheduled around the end of January, and most quarterly reports are released toward the end of the month following the end of the previous quarter.]