Intel Corp.

Intel reported Q2 revenue of $16.1 billion, non-GAAP gross margin of 41.8%, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.42. Revenue was $1.8 billion above the midpoint of guidance, gross margin was about 280 basis points better than guidance, and EPS was more than double the guided $0.20. AI-driven businesses grew greater than 70% year over year and represented approximately 70% of revenue; DCAI revenue was $6.3 billion, up 59% year over year, CCPG revenue was $8.9 billion, and Intel Foundry revenue was $5.8 billion. For Q3, Intel guided revenue to $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, non-GAAP gross margin to 42% at the midpoint, a tax rate of 11%, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.38. Full-year non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be about $16.5 billion, and 2026 capex is now expected to be more than $20 billion.

Lip-Bu Tan described Q2 as a quarter of solid execution and said this was the seventh straight quarter Intel exceeded financial expectations. His tone was confident and increasingly constructive on foundry, saying 18A, 18A-P, and 14A are progressing well and that customer engagement is strengthening. He emphasized that Intel’s x86 franchise, advanced packaging, and wafer foundry footprint position it to benefit from the global build-out in AI and compute infrastructure, while also stressing a cultural shift toward speed, accountability, and customer focus.

David Zinsner highlighted broad-based beat performance: $16.1 billion of revenue, 41.8% non-GAAP gross margin, and $0.42 non-GAAP EPS. He said the upside came from higher revenue, better yields, higher ASPs, and operating leverage, while operating cash flow was $7 billion and cash plus short-term investments were about $30 billion. On the balance sheet and capital allocation, he said liquidity is about $40 billion including a $10 billion revolver, 2026 capex will be more than $20 billion, tooling spend will rise 40% in 2026 vs. 2025, and the company remains disciplined, investing when returns and customer commitments are clear.

Analysts focused on the higher capex plan, foundry customer commitments, server share, client strength, and whether Q4 could step up as supply improves. Management said the capex increase is broad-based, includes advanced packaging but is skewed toward front-end fabs, and reflects confidence in customer demand and long-term agreements. On servers, they said demand is very strong but supply is the near-term constraint, and they expect continued improvement into Q4 without fully catching up. On client, they said strength was helped by ASP actions and mix, but memory inflation and subseasonal demand should pressure the back half of the year.