Intel reported second-quarter results that cleared analyst expectations by a wide margin, posting its fastest revenue growth for any quarter since 2011 and sending shares up about 4% in extended trading Thursday.
The company reported revenue of $16.1 billion for the quarter, compared to the $14.42 billion analysts had expected, according to LSEG consensus estimates. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 42 cents, more than double the 21 cents analysts had projected. Intel's 25% revenue growth rate was the fastest for any period in nearly 15 years, according to CNBC.
The company credited the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom for driving demand, particularly for its server processors.
"AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in the company's earnings statement. "As we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth across our CPU franchise."
Intel's data center business was the standout unit, with revenue rising 59% to $6.3 billion. The company's client computing group, which makes chips for personal computers, also grew, rising 13% to $8.9 billion. That unit remains Intel's largest. Intel said it expects flat PC sales in the third quarter because of a memory shortage.
CFO David Zinsner told analysts that the company is supply constrained, with data center customers demanding more chips than Intel can currently produce.
"Customers continue to signal a strong and sustainable spending environment," Zinsner said on the earnings call.
Intel said it has begun crafting long-term agreements with customers for its server processors, with some deals locking in pricing and others focused on chip volume. The company said it had reached 10 such long-term agreements. Zinsner said most of the increased capital spending would go toward factory tooling.
Intel's foundry business, which manufactures chips for other companies, reported $5.8 billion in sales, up 31% on an annual basis. Zinsner said the company's latest manufacturing process, called 14A, is ahead of where older technologies were at the same point in their development cycles.
"I did want to give investors at least a line of sight to expect that the number will be up," Zinsner said on the earnings call, referring to planned capital expenditure increases.
Intel shares are up more than 170% so far in 2026 as of Thursday's close, after gaining 84% last year. The U.S. government took a 10% stake in the company last year as part of an effort to support domestic chip manufacturing. Despite the longer-term run, Intel shares dropped 28% in July before the earnings report.
For the third quarter, Intel said it expects adjusted earnings per share of 38 cents on revenue between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion. Analysts had projected revenue of $15.1 billion and EPS of 27 cents.
