The Intel stock has rallied roughly 80% this year, buoyed by major partnerships and a tech sector boost linked to hopes for peace in Iran. BloombergAI Quick ReadIntel Corp. stock surged more than 4% Thursday as the market awaited the chipmaker’s first-quarter financial results. Investors are primarily focused on Intel's strategy to fix supply-chain bottlenecks that have hindered its capacity to scale production for surging AI-related enterprise demand.
Wall Street anticipates adjusted earnings of 1 cent per share—a 92% plunge year-over-year—alongside a fall in revenue to $12.4 billion. Gross margins are expected to contract to under 35%, down from 39% in Q1 2025. This follows a two-year trend where the company repeatedly fell short of revenue projections.
By 12:29 p.m. EDT, shares rose 4.17% to $68. The stock has rallied roughly 80% this year, buoyed by major partnerships and a tech sector boost linked to hopes for peace in Iran. Intel ranks among the S&P 500’s top 20 performers, climbing 58% since late March.
This recovery follows an $8.9 billion U.S. government investment last year. Intel subsequently spent $14 billion to reclaim a 50% stake in an Irish facility from Apollo Global Management. Recently, Intel expanded its AI CPU alliance with Google and secured a spot in Elon Musk’s Terafab AI project. Musk confirmed Terafab will utilize Intel’s 14A process, making it the debut major client for the technology.
During the Q1 earnings release, stakeholders will prioritize 18A process yields—the ratio of functional chips per wafer—as a key metric for future manufacturing success.
Some stock market pros see upside for Intel in the server CPU business, which is “the key near-term catalyst to drive earnings upside and is still not priced in,” HSBC analysts wrote in an April 21 note.
Intel Corp., aiming to penetrate the third-party chip fabrication market, recently recruited Samsung Electronics Co. veteran Shawn Han to bolster its client acquisition efforts.
Han, formerly an executive vice president at the South Korean tech giant, is slated to join Intel next month. He will report to Naga Chandrasekaran, the leader of Intel’s foundry operations, and serve as the general manager of foundry services, per a Thursday announcement.
Expanding Intel’s foundry—the division responsible for manufacturing semiconductors for external customers—represents a fundamental pillar of the revitalization strategy led by CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Currently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) maintains market dominance, with Samsung trailing in a distant second place.
Historically, Intel utilized its vast manufacturing network solely for its own proprietary designs. However, the company’s internal demand is no longer sufficient to offset the massive capital expenditures required to maintain and scale cutting-edge facilities.
To succeed, Intel must now convince rival chipmakers to outsource their production to its plants. This pivot depends entirely on Intel’s ability to prove it has reclaimed the technological superiority it surrendered in recent years.
“The hire reflects Intel Foundry’s continued emphasis on close customer engagement and customer-driven execution,” Chandrasekaran said in a post. “Shawn brings more than 10 years of commercial foundry leadership experience from his time at Samsung Foundry.”
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