Intel delivered a strong first-quarter performance that exceeded Wall Street expectations, sending shares up 15% in after-hours trading on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The chipmaker reported $13.58 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 28, surpassing the $12.42 billion estimate from analysts polled by LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.29, significantly above the forecasted $0.01.
On a GAAP basis, Intel posted $13.6 billion in revenue, up 7% from $12.7 billion in the same quarter last year. Gross margin improved to 39.4% from 36.9%, while R&D and MG&A costs fell 8% to $4.4 billion. Despite these gains, GAAP net loss widened to $3.7 billion, compared to a $0.8 billion loss a year earlier, with diluted GAAP loss per share of $0.73 versus $0.19.
The non-GAAP picture was markedly stronger. Adjusted gross margin rose to 41.0% from 39.2%, and non-GAAP operating margin nearly doubled to 12.3% from 5.4%. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Intel reached $1.5 billion, up 156% from $0.6 billion in the prior year. The company generated $1.1 billion in cash from operations during the quarter.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized the company's renewed focus: “With a solid foundation in place, we are addressing this opportunity by listening to our customers and driving their success with our technical expertise and differentiated IP. This deliberate reset to how we operate drove a sixth consecutive quarter of revenue above our expectations, as well as new and deepened relationships with strategic partners.”
Key product lines showed robust growth. Data Center and AI revenue surged 22% to $5.1 billion, while total Intel Products revenue rose 9% to $12.8 billion. Intel Foundry contributed $5.4 billion, up 16% year-over-year. The company expanded its product portfolio, rolling out Xeon 600 processors for workstations, Core Ultra 200S Plus and 200HX Plus chips, and Core Series 3 processors with Intel 18A technology. Notably, Intel signed a multiyear deal with Google to deploy Xeon processors across cloud instances, including C4 and N4 instances powered by Xeon 6 chips, with joint development on custom ASIC IPUs for AI workloads. Xeon 6 was also selected as the host CPU for Nvidia's DGX Rubin NVL8 systems. Additionally, Intel joined the Terafab project alongside SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla.
For the second quarter of 2026, Intel guided for revenue of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion, well above analyst expectations of around $13 billion. The company projects GAAP gross margin of 37.5%, non-GAAP gross margin of 39.0%, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.20, more than double the consensus estimate of $0.09.
However, challenges remain. Intel's foundry business posted an operating loss of $2.3 billion in the quarter, highlighting the heavy investment required for its long-term strategy. CFO David Zinsner noted: “We remain focused on maximizing our factory network to improve available supply and meet our customers’ needs throughout the year.”
