Intel Shares Surge 24% to All-Time Highs as CPU Renaissance Ignites Artificial Intelligence Turnaround

Quick overview

On Friday, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) had one of its best trading days in decades. The stock rose more than 24% to close at about $82.57, briefly breaking its dot-com era top from 2000 and raising the company’s market valuation to over $416 billion. The trigger was a blowout earnings report for the first quarter that showed that AI-driven demand for central processing units (CPUs) could be changing the semiconductor market.

The Santa Clara-based corporation had $13.58 billion in sales in the first quarter, which is a 6.9% increase from the same time last year and more than $1 billion more than what analysts expected. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.29, which is $0.28 more than what most people thought they would be. The results were helped by higher demand in the data center and AI markets, better pricing, and a surprise benefit: Intel sold chips it had thought were unsellable.

“We either had to de-spec the product or put it on hold and then deal with customers. “That helped a lot,” said CFO David Zinsner to analysts. He also said that supplies stayed tight all quarter long.

Intel Stock Heads Higher as CPUs Make a Comeback

The most important thing about Intel’s results might be what they suggest about the whole industry. For a long time, graphics processing units (GPUs), which Nvidia mostly makes, were thought to be the most important part of the AI revolution, especially for training big language models. But the work is changing.

As AI programs go from training models to making decisions and agentic AI, where computers can handle longer, more complicated tasks on their own, CPUs are becoming increasingly important again. Mark Lipacis, an analyst at Evercore, raised Intel’s rating to Outperform and set a new Street-high price target of $111. He said that CPU-to-GPU ratios in AI deployments have gone from as low as 1:8 to about 1:2. For some agentic workloads, ratios as high as 10:1 in favor of CPUs may be needed.

Lipacis thinks that by 2030, Intel may take one-third of the AI CPU market, which is worth about 37 to 74 million units per year. This would help the company reach its goal of $150 billion in sales and $6.50 in earnings per share.

Rivals Take Notice

The return of the CPU helped Intel’s rivals as well. On Friday, AMD and Arm Holdings each rose by more than 11%. This shows that people are generally more hopeful about the AI tailwinds in the CPU sector. Nvidia has been the leader in AI chips for a long time with its GPUs, but this month it showed that it was aware of the change by releasing a new central processor, something it had mostly given up on.

Intel’s Turnaround Gains Credibility

Intel’s rise is part of a tremendous rebound. The stock has gone up more than 120% in 2026, including Friday’s increase, after going up 84% in 2025. This is because CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s restructuring efforts are starting to pay off. Earlier this week, Intel also got Tesla to buy its next-generation 14A chipmaking process, which makes its foundry plans more believable. “If the foundry business can start making a real difference in 2027, that should really show that the company’s turnaround is complete,” said Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research.

Intel (INTC) Stock Outlook: Wall Street Cautiously Optimistic

At least 23 brokerages boosted their price targets after the earnings announcement. But the larger group of analysts is still cautious. There are 10 Buy ratings, 22 Holds, and 3 Sells for Intel. The overall rating is Hold. The average price objective of about $77 suggests that the stock could drop a little from its present high levels following its amazing run.

The stock is now worth over 90 times its 12-month ahead earnings, which is the largest multiple ever. This is because of the excitement around its turnaround and the high value investors place on its long-term potential. In comparison, AMD’s stock is at 37 times its 12-month forward earnings and Nvidia’s stock is worth 22 times its 12-month forward earnings.

Intel also gave a good outlook for Q2, saying it will make between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion, which is far more than the $13.06 billion that Wall Street had expected.

Intel’s comeback is a strong reminder that in technology, the cycle constantly turns. Not long ago, some thought the business was a victim of the GPU age.

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Arslan Butt

Lead Markets Analyst – Multi-Asset (FX, Commodities, Crypto)

Arslan Butt serves as the Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst, bringing a wealth of expertise to the field. With an MBA in Behavioral Finance and active progress towards a Ph.D., Arslan possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics. His professional journey includes a significant role as a senior analyst at a leading brokerage firm, complementing his extensive experience as a market analyst and day trader. Adept in educating others, Arslan has a commendable track record as an instructor and public speaker. His incisive analyses, particularly within the realms of cryptocurrency and forex markets, are showcased across esteemed financial publications such as ForexCrunch, InsideBitcoins, and EconomyWatch, solidifying his reputation in the financial community.

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