dailyloe.com – Intel reported first-quarter earnings Thursday that blew past Wall Street’s expectations, according to CNBC. The struggling chipmaker showed signs of a revival. Shares of the U.S. chipmaker jumped 15% in after-hours trading. The company’s results compared favorably with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG.
Intel has been a Wall Street darling of late, with its stock up more than 80% this year as of Thursday’s close. The stock soared 84% in 2025. The chipmaker has been championed by the Trump administration. The U.S. government became Intel’s largest shareholder last year as part of an effort to bring chip manufacturing stateside.
Nvidia and SoftBank also invested billions in Intel, the report stated. However, the business fell way behind rivals Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices during the early stages of the artificial intelligence boom. The company has not been seeing much momentum. That could finally be changing.
Revenue increased 7.2% from $12.67 billion a year earlier. This follows year-over-year revenue declines in five of the past seven quarters. Intel said it expects second-quarter revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. The company also forecast adjusted earnings per share of 20 cents.
That is well above analyst expectations for revenue of $13.07 billion and EPS of 9 cents. Intel saw the strongest growth in its data center business. The company is starting to get traction in AI thanks to surging demand for central processing units (CPUs). Revenue in that division climbed 22% to $5.1 billion.
The once-sleepy CPU market has taken off as agentic workloads shift compute needs beyond Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs). Nvidia’s GPUs have ruled AI thus far. That growing CPU demand underpinned Intel’s recent $14 billion purchase of a 49% stake in its Ireland chip fab. Intel had previously sold that stake to Apollo Global Management.
Intel is still losing money, but less of it. The company said its net loss narrowed to $887 million, or 19 cents a share. That compares with a loss of $4.28 billion, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier. Intel has an unusual strategy when it comes to chips.
As an integrated device manufacturer, Intel makes its own products while also manufacturing the silicon that powers them. Most chipmakers outsource the complex and costly manufacturing process to giant chip fabrication plants. These plants are run by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Foundry revenue at Intel rose 16% from a year ago to $5.4 billion.
Much of Intel’s foundry business consists of making its own chips. The earnings report indicates the company may be turning a corner after a prolonged slump. Investors responded positively to the better-than-expected results. The after-hours stock surge reflected renewed optimism about Intel’s trajectory.
