Intel Shares Skyrocket 24% Following Exceptional Q1 Earnings
Intel Corporation shares soared by a staggering 23.6% on Friday, marking the chipmaker’s most impressive single-day performance since 1987. This surge came in the wake of the company’s first-quarter results, which far surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.
The semiconductor behemoth reported a Q1 2026 revenue of $13.6 billion—an increase of 7% year-over-year. The adjusted earnings per share stood at $0.29, dwarfing analyst expectations of a mere $0.01. The stock concluded at $82.57, breezing past its previous zenith during the dot-com boom to attain an all-time high.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan credited the robust performance to the escalating demand for Intel’s chips. This demand was primarily driven by the upcoming wave of artificial intelligence technology, particularly in data centers and AI infrastructure. The company also benefited from approximately $20 billion in support from the U.S. government through the CHIPS Act, solidifying Intel’s position as a strategic domestic semiconductor manufacturer.
Intel’s rally had a positive impact on the broader semiconductor sector. Nvidia saw a gain of 4.5%, AMD rose by 13%, and MaxLinear leaped by a whopping 80%. Analysts from prominent firms such as HSBC and Northland significantly raised price targets into the $75-$95 range. They cited the tightening CPU supply and AI-driven growth as the primary reasons. This impressive earnings beat comes on the heels of recent major deals with Google, Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI for AI and cloud infrastructure.
Source: CNBC Technology