On April 23, Intel rose 9.34% after hours, trading at $75.01/share, with trading volume of approximately $294 million. The surge came immediately following the release of its Q1 earnings report after market close, as investors responded positively to results that appeared to alleviate concerns about whether the company's AI narrative could be backed by real financial performance.
Heading into the report, Intel's stock had already staged a dramatic comeback, climbing over 80% year-to-date with its market capitalization approaching $340 billion, fueled by its involvement in the Terafab AI chip project and a deepening partnership with Google in data center infrastructure. BNP Paribas and HSBC both upgraded the stock ahead of earnings, citing sustained AI server CPU demand. However, significant skepticism persisted — only 6 out of 38 covering analysts rated the stock a Buy, with an average target price of just $51.25, while analyst Kevin Cassidy warned that limited production capacity could prevent Intel from fully capitalizing on AI agent-driven server demand, even as average selling prices were expected to rise 10%-15%. Additionally, the company's foundry business had posted an operating loss of approximately $10.3 billion in fiscal year 2025, and CEO Lip-Bu Tan acknowledged that current yields could support shipments but not normal profit margins.
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