Intel’s comeback in 2026 has been one of the more surprising stories in the chip sector. The stock is up 144% year to date, and the company just posted what CEO Lip-Bu Tan called “the strongest revenue growth in more than 15 years.”
The stock opened at $95.80 on Monday and has traded as high as $142.35 over the past year. It hit a 52-week low of $24.05 before the rally took hold.
Q2 revenue came in at $16.13 billion, up 25.2% year over year and well ahead of the $14.43 billion analyst estimate. EPS of $0.42 doubled the consensus of $0.21. Data center revenue climbed 59% year over year, a standout number in the report.
Intel has set Q3 2026 EPS guidance at $0.38. Analysts currently forecast full-year EPS of $1.01 for 2026, with the 2027 consensus rising to $2.04, up from $1.51 just 90 days ago.
The consensus rating remains “Hold” with an average price target of $107.01. Ratings break down as 1 strong buy, 15 buy, 31 hold, and 3 sell. Mizuho cut its target from $109 to $92, citing weaker PC demand and margin pressure. Stifel Nicolaus also trimmed its target from $120 to $110 while keeping a hold rating.
On the more bullish side, Citigroup upgraded Intel to buy, HSBC and Seaport Research Partners both reiterated buy ratings, and Global Equities Research put a $200 price target on the stock, citing Intel’s role in CPU-to-GPU ratios in AI clusters.
Intel 18A manufacturing yields are running about 25% above targets set in March. Tan also described Xeon 6 as “one of the fastest ramping products in Intel history” and pointed to an ASIC opportunity with a total addressable market of over $100 billion.
CEO Tan bought 105,263 INTC shares on August 11 at $95 per share, a transaction totaling just under $10 million. That brought his total holding to 1,314,669 shares. Insiders are net buyers across five recent transactions.
On the institutional side, the picture is mixed. RPg Family Wealth Advisory cut its Intel position by 41.6% in Q2, selling 114,310 units but retaining 160,779 valued at $22.45 million. Intel remains the firm’s third-largest holding.
Meanwhile, GTS Securities increased its stake by 559% in Q2, and Headlands Technologies grew its position by 322.5%. Institutional investors collectively own 64.53% of Intel.
Intel Foundry posted an operating loss of $2.1 billion in Q2. External foundry revenue was only $293 million. A $12.53 billion non-cash charge on CHIPS Act escrow dragged GAAP results into the red, giving Intel a negative net margin of 19.79%.
PC demand is expected to fall low double digits for all of 2026 due to memory pricing, which remains a headwind for Intel’s core business.
The company carries a 50-day moving average of $100.45 and a 200-day moving average of $88.20, with a market cap of $483.22 billion.
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