Key Highlights Second-quarter results showed earnings per share of $0.38 and revenue totaling $16.1 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of $0.21 EPS and $14.43 billion in sales Thi
Shares of Intel (INTC) surged over 7% during extended trading hours on Thursday following the semiconductor giant’s impressive second-quarter financial results and encouraging third-quarter projections.
The company delivered adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share on $16.1 billion in quarterly sales. Analysts had anticipated earnings of $0.21 per share with revenue reaching $14.43 billion. In the same period last year, Intel recorded a loss of $0.10 per share while generating $12.9 billion in revenue.
Year-to-date performance has been exceptional, with Intel shares gaining 178% since January 2026, although they still trade approximately 29% beneath their record closing price of $140.94 achieved on June 22.
INTEL $INTC Q2’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
Revenue: $16.1B (Est. $14.50B)
; +25% YoY
Q3 Guide:
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) July 23, 2026
For the upcoming third quarter, management forecasted revenue between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion, significantly exceeding Wall Street’s $15.06 billion projection. The earnings per share outlook of $0.38 also surpassed the analyst consensus of $0.27.
The data center division posted $6.3 billion in sales, outperforming the $5.54 billion estimate. Meanwhile, client computing generated $8.9 billion in revenue, exceeding projections of $7.99 billion.
Intel Foundry reported quarterly revenue of $5.8 billion, representing a 31% year-over-year increase and beating the $5.6 billion forecast.
“AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute, and as we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth across our CPU franchise, ASICs, advanced packaging and vast wafer foundry network,” CEO Lip-Bu Tan said.
Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner highlighted improved manufacturing yields and accelerated production cycles as critical factors behind the quarter’s outperformance. Management announced plans to substantially expand capital expenditures on equipment, clean room facilities, and substrate materials.
The emergence of AI agents has sparked renewed interest in central processing units, as these applications depend on CPUs for executing functions such as database queries and document creation. This shift has provided a significant boost to Intel’s traditional chip operations following an extended period where GPUs dominated the market.
Just days ago, Intel announced workforce reductions within its Data Center Group as part of an organizational realignment. The company stated it is “aligning its organization to ensure it has the right roles and skills in place.”
Intel’s chip fabrication business continues to attract prominent clients. Reports from The Information indicate that Google has contracted Intel to produce 3 million specialized Tensor Processing Units. Additionally, Nvidia is said to be considering Intel as a potential manufacturing partner.
These developments occur as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) faces challenges meeting robust demand from Nvidia, AMD, and Apple. Intel appears positioned to capitalize on opportunities as an alternative supplier.
In the consumer segment, escalating memory chip costs are prompting manufacturers to discontinue lower-margin laptop and desktop models while increasing prices on high-end offerings.
Intel earned recognition as a 2026 Barron’s stock selection and has garnered support from the Trump administration alongside receiving investment from Nvidia.
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