Intel reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% year over year, marking what CEO Lip-Bu Tan called the company’s strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years. The company forecast third-quarter 2026 revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, above Wall Street expectations, and raised its 2026 capital expenditure estimate to $20 billion from $18 billion. The improved outlook reflects growing adoption of Intel’s data center CPUs by customers building AI infrastructure.
Intel’s Data Center and AI segment revenue grew 59% year over year to $6.3 billion, while its Client Computing and Physical AI Group grew 13% to $8.9 billion, and Intel Foundry revenue rose 31% to $5.8 billion. Total Intel Products revenue increased 28% to $15.1 billion. Gross margin rose to 40.4% on a GAAP basis, up nearly 13 percentage points from a year earlier, while non-GAAP gross margin reached 41.8%. The company reported a GAAP net loss attributable to Intel of $11.0 billion, driven largely by a $12.5 billion mark-to-market charge related to Escrowed Shares tied to its CHIPS Act agreement with the U.S. government, while non-GAAP net income attributable to Intel was $2.2 billion, or $0.42 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP loss of $0.10 per share a year earlier. The company generated $7.0 billion in cash from operations during the quarter.
At least six analysts raised their price targets following the report, leaving the median target about 8.8% above Intel’s last closing price. The stock has more than doubled this year despite a recent selloff across global chip stocks. CEO Lip-Bu Tan has spent the past year strengthening Intel’s finances, including securing backing from the U.S. government, as the company seeks a larger role in AI-driven semiconductor demand alongside Nvidia’s lead in accelerator chips.
During the quarter, Intel advanced several product and manufacturing initiatives, including new rack-scale AI infrastructure built on Intel Xeon processors developed with SambaNova and Foxconn, the launch of its next-generation Xeon 6+ data center CPU built on Intel 18A, and expanded adoption of its Core Ultra Series 3 processors for edge AI and robotics applications among more than 130 customers. On the manufacturing side, Intel’s 18A-P process entered risk production on schedule, and the company began high-volume manufacturing of a subset of its Panther Lake processors using ASML’s High-NA EUV lithography technology. Intel also announced a €5 billion investment to expand manufacturing capacity for its Xeon 6 processors and strengthened its leadership team with several executive appointments, including a new chief technology officer and a new head of its Client Computing and Physical AI Group.
KEY QUOTES:
“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. Our Q2 results represent our strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years, enabled by greater speed, accountability, and customer focus.”
Lip-Bu Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Intel
“We delivered a strong second quarter, exceeding our financial guidance on robust demand and improved execution, including volume upside driven by higher factory yields and improved cycle times. AI-driven compute continues to strengthen, and to support expected growth this year and next across products and foundry, we are meaningfully increasing our investments in equipment, clean room space, and substrates.”
Dave Zinsner, Chief Financial Officer, Intel
