Technology

Intel, quarter above estimates. Stock boom in after hours

Sales stood at USD 13.58 billion, with the data centre and artificial intelligence segments at USD 5.1 billion

by Vittorio Carlini

23 April 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Quarterly accounts
Operational segments
The Difficult Past
Multiples nonsense
The challenge

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Intel's shares are back in the spotlight on Wall Street. The reason? A quarterly report that surprised the market, boosting investor interest. The stock gained up to 18% in after-hours trading, reaching $79.

Quarterly accounts

This is undoubtedly a strong signal after difficult years. First-quarter results showed a marked improvement: adjusted earnings per share came in at 29 cents, well above the 2 cents expected by consensus and up from 13 cents in the same period last year. Revenues also beat estimates, reaching USD 13.6 billion against expectations of USD 12.4 billion (+7% year-on-year). The same guidance for the second quarter confirms the positive momentum. Intel expects an increase in revenues to 13.8-14.8 billion and an improvement in gross margin.

Operating segments

From an operational perspective, the group showed better-than-expected resilience in the personal computer market, which was less affected than expected by the memory shortage that continues to push up prices. More dynamic was the data centre segment, which recorded growth of 22%, albeit in a highly competitive environment dominated by Nvidia. On the other hand, the manufacturing division remained in difficulty, posting a loss of $2.4 billion, reflecting the costs of the ongoing industrial transformation.

This includes new agreements with Elon Musk's companies, aimed at developing a large production site in Texas and opening up to external customers, a step considered crucial to sustain future investments. The quarter was also weighed down by a $4.1 billion write-down related to the automotive chip subsidiary Mobileye.

The difficult past

Intel's recent path, however, remains marked by a long period of difficulty: in the past years, the group has lagged behind in the production of advanced semiconductors, losing ground to competitors such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (Tsmc). An initial turnaround attempt was made in 2021 with the return of Pat Gelsinger at the helm of the company. The incumbent ceo initiated a strategy that included outsourcing part of the production. However, the market was not convinced by the plan and the shares continued to fall on the stock exchange.

All until last summer. The change of narrative was consolidated with the arrival of the new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who focused on strategic agreements and financial strengthening. Among the most relevant transactions is the entry (9% of the capital) of the US government into the company, which marks the political-industrial link between the group and Trump. Then there is the partnership with Nvidia, which enters with a 4.5% share. In recent weeks, Intel has also bought back some of the manufacturing assets previously sold to Apollo Global Management, a sign of a more aggressive strategy on the industrial front.

Multiples nonsense

That said, analysts are watching the valuations carefully: the stock, Barron's points out, trades at around 92 times expected earnings over the next 12 months. A record multiple for the company, and a meaningless one. It means in fact that, assuming current profitability confirmed over time, it would take 92 years to repay the price paid for the stock. Furthermore, the technological challenge remains open, with Intel still lagging behind Tsmc in production nodes. Musk has indicated his intention to use the 14A one in the TeraFab project, intended to serve Tesla and SpaceX (although commercial launch is not expected before 2028). Beyond that, however, it should be noted that the Taiwanese group is already focused on sub-7nm technology. That is to say: more frontier.

The Challenge

Be that as it may, Intel's shares have risen by more than 80 per cent since the beginning of the year and by almost 48 per cent in April, thanks to strong investor demand for Cpu's, the type of processor that Intel has been focusing on for decades and around which it has built its business. Yes, its own business. Precisely in CPUs, however, competition remains high. Rivals like Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Arm also want that market and are launching new products to gain an advantage.

Vittorio CarliniRedattore
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Italiano, Inglese
Argomenti: Finanza, Tecnologia, Analisi fondamentale
Scheda autore
Trust project