Intel is experiencing a new golden era, marking one of its strongest stock market periods in decades. After years of technological delays, losing market share to AMD, doubts about its foundry strategy, and lagging in the AI boom dominated by NVIDIA, the company has managed to turn the tide.
Its shares have climbed to record levels, nearing $95 per share, a significant leap from the $17.67 it touched in 2025. In just one year, Intel has transformed from a company perceived to be in structural crisis into one of the major bets in the semiconductor sector.
Intel is in Better Shape Than Ever Thanks to AI: Its Stock Value Grows 130% in a Month
The immediate catalyst has been a combination of better-than-expected financial results, very strong demand for CPUs for data centers and artificial intelligence, and signs of improvement in Intel Foundry Services. In the first quarter of 2026, Intel reported revenue of $13.6 billion, a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Furthermore, the company forecasts revenue for the second quarter to be between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion, figures that exceed previous market expectations.
Intel asserts that the CPU is regaining a central role in AI infrastructure, especially as the sector shifts from massive training towards inference workloads and agentic systems. While accelerators (GPUs) remain essential, each GPU requires surrounding CPUs, memory, networks, and advanced packaging. This has revitalized the Intel Xeon CPU business, with the Data Center and AI division growing 22% year-over-year to $5.1 billion.
The company’s foundry, Intel Foundry Services (IFS), long seen as a major financial drain, is beginning to show technical progress. Intel itself reported $5.4 billion in revenue for its Foundry division, a 16% year-over-year increase, although still with significant operating losses. During the earnings call, the company highlighted performance improvements in its Intel 4, Intel 3, and 18A lithographies. David Zinsner, Intel’s Executive Vice President and CFO, indicated that internal performance targets for the Intel 18A node might be met sooner than anticipated.
A significant test of the foundry’s recovery is the Intel 14 node. Tesla has positioned itself as the first major external customer for this technology within Elon Musk’s Terafab project in Austin. This refers to a substantial AI chip complex linked to Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, representing a key agreement for Intel Foundry.
The Company is Selling Chips That Were Previously Discarded
CPU demand was so strong that Intel ended up selling chips that would have been discarded in other circumstances. This is an unprecedented situation, with customers willing to purchase nearly all available supply. However, not all news is positive, as IFS continues to incur losses for now.
IFS generated an operating loss of approximately $2.4 billion for the quarter, demonstrating that technical recovery has not yet translated into full profitability. Moreover, the external foundry business remains small compared to Intel’s ambitions and the dominance of TSMC. But this situation could change in the coming quarters.
