Intel shares jumped in after-hours trading Thursday after the semiconductor giant reported second-quarter results that handily beat Wall Street estimates and issued an upbeat outlook. The stock, which had closed the regular session at $100.23, climbed more than 4% in extended trading, extending a rally that has lifted shares over 170% year-to-date in 2026.
Earnings Highlights
Intel posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.42, nearly double the $0.21 analysts had expected. Revenue reached $16.1 billion, compared with the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion, marking the company's strongest quarterly revenue growth since 2011 with a 25% year-over-year jump. Gross margin recovered to 41.8%, a dramatic improvement from just 2.5% a year ago.
AI Demand Fuels Data Center Growth
The Data Center and AI segment was a standout, generating $6.3 billion in revenue — a 59% surge year-over-year and well above the $5.54 billion estimate. CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized that “AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute,” and the company is positioned to capture sustainable growth across CPUs, ASICs, advanced packaging, and its foundry network. The Client Computing Group also contributed, with revenue rising 13% to $8.9 billion.
Foundry Business Gains Traction
Intel Foundry revenue climbed 31% to $5.8 billion, beating estimates. Reports surfaced that Google has placed an order for 3 million custom Tensor Processing Units, and Nvidia is reportedly evaluating Intel as a manufacturing partner, which could help Intel benefit as a secondary source amid capacity constraints at Taiwan Semiconductor.
Outlook Raised
For the third quarter, Intel guided for revenue of $15.8–$16.8 billion and adjusted EPS of around $0.38, topping consensus estimates of $15.06 billion and $0.27, respectively. CFO David Zinsner attributed the beat to stronger factory yields and faster cycle times, and the company announced plans to “meaningfully increase” capital expenditure, particularly for the next-generation 14A manufacturing process.
