Intel will report its quarterly results on Thursday afternoon, with investors closely watching whether the chipmaker can sustain the momentum that has propelled its stock sharply higher at the start of 2026.
The upcoming report follows a stronger-than-expected performance in the previous quarter.
On Wednesday, the Intel stock surged up over 6% as the markets opened.
Intel beat analysts’ revenue estimates by 3.8% last quarter, posting revenue of $13.65 billion, up 2.8% year on year.
The company also exceeded expectations on earnings per share and delivered a solid beat on adjusted operating income, marking one of its more encouraging quarters in recent years.
What Wall Street expects this quarter
For the quarter about to be reported, analysts are forecasting a more subdued top-line picture.
Consensus estimates call for revenue of $13.4 billion, representing a 6% decline from a year earlier.
While still a contraction, that would mark an improvement from the 7.4% year-on-year decline in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.08 per share.
Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya and his team updated their view on Intel ahead of the earnings release after hosting an investor meeting at the Consumer Electronics Show with Intel investor relations representative John Pitzer.
Following that meeting, Arya’s team said it now expects in-line or slightly better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales and gross margins of $13.4 billion and 36.5%, respectively.
A rally that’s drawing belief
Intel’s stock has surged at the start of 2026, prompting a growing number of analysts to reassess their outlook on the company.
As of Tuesday’s close, Intel shares are up 23% so far this year and have climbed 123% over the past 12 months.
That rally has been underpinned by a series of positive developments, including the rollout of new processors and renewed confidence in Intel’s competitiveness in key markets.
A social media post from President Donald Trump praising Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan also added to recent investor enthusiasm.
Seaport Research Partners upgraded Intel to Buy from Neutral in a research note on Tuesday and assigned a $65 price target.
The firm said Intel is positioned to retake market share in both its enterprise and consumer segments in 2026, reversing losses suffered over the past several years.
HSBC also struck a more constructive tone, upgrading Intel from “Reduce” to “Hold” and raising its price target to $50 from $26.
The move represents a 92% increase in its valuation call and reflects what the bank sees as improving fundamentals.
KeyBanc analyst John Vinh said Intel has “almost completely sold out” of its server processor supply through 2026, citing unprecedented hyperscaler demand driven by agentic artificial intelligence workloads.
That supply tightness has given Intel something it has lacked for years: pricing power. According to Vinh, the company is considering average selling price increases of 10% to 15% on server processors, broadly in line with pricing moves by rival Advanced Micro Devices.
As Intel prepares to report earnings, investors will be looking for confirmation that these positive signals are translating into durable financial improvement.
While near-term revenue growth remains constrained, analysts are increasingly focused on margin stability, server demand, and evidence that Intel can sustain pricing power.
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