Intel posted 25% revenue growth in Q2, its best growth rate in 15 years, delivering a major earnings surprise. Here's the breakdown of its AI data center and foundry results, plus Q3 guidance.
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On the same day Alphabet and Tesla disappointed the market, US chipmaker Intel delivered a blowout earnings surprise that ran completely against the grain. Shares jumped 4% to as much as 10% in after-hours trading immediately following the report.
Best revenue growth in 15 years
Intel reported on July 23 (local time) that Q2 revenue came in at $16.128 billion, up 25.4% year-over-year. That beat the LSEG consensus estimate of $14.42 billion by more than $1.6 billion and marked Intel's strongest quarterly revenue growth rate since Q3 2011 — a full 15 years.
Adjusted EPS came in at 42 cents, exactly double the Wall Street estimate of 21 cents. Adjusted net income was $2.197 billion, swinging from a loss in the same period last year to a solid profit.
The two engines behind the beat: AI data centers and foundry
The segment breakdown makes clear where the growth came from:
- Client Computing and Physical AI Group (CCPG): revenue of $8.9 billion, up 13% year-over-year and the largest contributor to total revenue
- Data Center and AI (DCAI): revenue of $6.3 billion, up a striking 59% year-over-year — the fastest-growing segment
- Foundry (contract chip manufacturing): revenue of $5.8 billion, up 31%, with the company's 1.8nm-class "Intel 18A-P" process now entering risk production
The turnaround in the foundry business — long considered Intel's weak spot — stood out in particular. Under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, cybersecurity firm Fortinet became the unit's first publicly named customer.
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Q3 guidance also tops estimates
Confident the momentum will continue, Intel guided for Q3 revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion with EPS of 38 cents — well above the LSEG consensus of $15.1 billion in revenue and 27 cents in EPS. Citing strong customer demand, the company also raised its 2026 capex target by more than $20 billion above its prior plan.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the results reflected "faster execution, greater accountability, and a customer-first approach" that delivered Intel's strongest growth in 15 years, adding that with AI driving unprecedented compute demand, Intel is well positioned to keep growing across CPUs, custom ASICs, advanced packaging, and its foundry network.
A tale of two sessions
Interestingly, Intel shares actually closed down 2.33% in regular trading that day, weighed down by earlier news of restructuring within the data center group. But sentiment flipped almost instantly once the earnings hit the tape — shares jumped more than 4% initially and climbed as high as 10% in after-hours trading.
Key things for investors to watch
- Is the turnaround real? After one of the market's biggest rebound rallies this year, Intel now faces scrutiny not just on whether the turnaround is genuine, but how much work remains
- Foundry momentum: whether the 1.8nm process ramps successfully will be central to Intel's medium-term valuation
- Durability of AI data center demand: whether DCAI's 59% growth proves to be a one-off or a sustained trend will become clearer next quarter
Bottom line
The Alphabet/Tesla earnings shock and Intel's earnings surprise, reported on the same day, offered a striking contrast — whether AI-related spending gets read as a "burden" or as "proof of growth" completely determined how the market reacted. In our next post, we'll cover the US Section 301 forced-labor tariff that took effect the same day, setting Korea's rate at 12.5%.
This post is based on reporting from Yonhap News, Newdaily, Ajunews, Korea Times, and Benzinga Korea as of July 24, 2026. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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