Intel stock surges 16% after strong earnings, AI growth and big deals boost outlook

Intel stock jumped more than 15%–16% after the company announced its Q1 2026 earnings, showing very strong results. The stock has now crossed its old record high from August 2000, which is a big milestone for the company. Because of this rally, the Trump Administration’s investment in Intel is now up nearly 250%, showing huge gains, as posted on X by The Kobeissi Letter.

In after-hours trading, Intel stock rose sharply because it beat Wall Street expectations in both profit and revenue. For Q1 2026, Intel earnings reported per share (EPS) of $0.29, while analysts expected only $0.01, as per Bloomberg data. The company posted revenue of $13.6 billion, which was higher than the expected $12.36 billion. Compared to last year, Intel also improved, since it had EPS of $0.13 and revenue of $12.67 billion in the same quarter.

Intel AI growth

Intel also gave a strong forecast for Q2, expecting revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion, much higher than Wall Street’s estimate of $13.03 billion, as stated by Yahoo Finance. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the next wave of AI will increase demand for Intel chips, especially CPUs and advanced packaging. He explained that AI is moving toward AI agents (smart bots) that do tasks for users, and these need more CPUs. Intc said this shift is helping it build stronger relationships with big partners and improve business performance.

Intel data center revenue

The company’s Data Center and AI division earned $5.1 billion, beating expectations of $4.41 billion, as noted by Yahoo Finance. Even though Intel missed the early AI boom, it is now slowly gaining a share in the AI market. CPUs made by Intel are becoming more important because AI agents use CPUs for tasks like browsing and data search. Most AI models still run on GPUs from companies like Amazon and Google, but CPUs are needed for everyday AI work.

Intel admitted that demand for its data center chips is higher than supply, but it plans to increase production every quarter. The company is also facing problems from a global memory chip shortage, which is slowing down PC sales. According to International Data Corporation, the global PC market may fall 11.3% in 2026, though revenue may still rise slightly.

Intel deals and partnerships

Intel’s PC chip business (Client Computing) made $7.7 billion, beating expectations of $7.1 billion, as noted by Yahoo Finance. Intel also announced a big partnership with Elon Musk for a new Terafab facility. This facility will produce chips for SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla. Intel also signed a multi-year deal with Google Cloud, where its Xeon CPUs will power AI and other workloads.

The company plans to buy back a 49% stake in a chip factory it had earlier sold to Apollo. Intel will pay $14.2 billion to regain this stake, after selling it for $11.2 billion in 2024. All these moves are part of Intel’s big turnaround plan, which investors are now trusting. Because of this confidence, Intel stock is up about 77% so far in 2026, as cited by Yahoo Finance.

FAQs

Q1. Why did Intel stock go up?
Intel stock went up because the company reported strong earnings, beat expectations, and gave a positive future outlook.

Q2. How is AI helping Intel’s business?
AI is increasing demand for Intel’s CPUs, especially for AI agents and data center work, helping boost its growth.