Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) stock jumped premarket on Friday after the company reported its first-quarter results after Thursday’s closing bell.

The chipmaker smashed street estimates on both earnings and revenues.

Earnings Snapshot

Intel reported quarterly earnings of 29 cents per share, which blew past the analyst consensus estimate of one cent, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Quarterly revenue came in at $13.58 billion, which beat the Street estimate of $12.42 billion and was up from $12.67 billion in the same period last year. Revenue also surpassed expectations by $1.4 billion versus the midpoint of guidance.

Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner told CNBC correspondent Kristina Partsinevelos that part of the upside came from selling products previously written off as end-of-life inventory, which saw renewed customer demand.

Intel expects second-quarter adjusted EPS of 20 cents, versus the 9-cent analyst estimate, and revenue in a range of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion, versus the $13.07 billion estimate.

Conference Call Takeaways

The company said AI-related businesses now account for roughly 60% of total revenue and expanded 40% year over year.

Gross margin reached 41%, about 650 basis points above expectations.

Operating cash flow totaled $1.1 billion, with gross capex of $5 billion, resulting in adjusted free cash flow of negative $2 billion in the quarter.

By segment, Client Computing Group revenue was $7.7 billion, down 6% sequentially, with operating profit of $2.5 billion (33% margin).

Data Center and AI revenue rose to $5.1 billion, up 7% sequentially and 22% year over year, generating $1.5 billion in operating profit (31% margin).

Intel Foundry revenue reached $5.4 billion, up 20% sequentially, including $174 million in external revenue, while its operating loss narrowed to $2.4 billion.

Outlook

The company expects the PC market’s total addressable market to decline in the low double-digit range for the full year.

For the second quarter, Intel sees an adjusted gross margin of 39%. At the midpoint of the second quarter outlook, the company projects Data Center and AI revenue to grow in the double digits sequentially.

For 2026, it sees full-year operating expenses near $16 billion, though potentially higher due to inflation and ongoing investments.

Capex is now expected to be roughly flat versus last year, revised from prior expectations of flat to down.

The company expects roughly $250 million in non-controlling interest impacts in each of the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2026. It also projects total impacts of about $1.1 billion over 2027–2028.

On capital structure, Intel plans debt repayments of $2.5 billion in 2026 and $3.8 billion in 2027.

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Hold rating with an average price target of $54.20. Recent analyst moves include:

  • Needham: Hold (April 24)
  • HSBC: Upgraded to Buy (Raises Target to $95.00) (April 21)
  • KGI Securities: Downgraded to Neutral (Target $71.00) (April 20)

INTC Price Action: Intel shares were up 27.60% at $85.21 during premarket trading on Friday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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