Intel Stock Is Rallying. Why Analysts See More Gains to Come. -- Barrons.com

By Jack Denton

Intel stock was rallying into Friday after the chipmaker reported blowout earnings supported by strong demand for hardware used in artificial intelligence. With the shares coming off a rough patch, this could be a buying opportunity as Wall Street sees more gains ahead.

Intel stock advanced more than 4% in premarket trading on Friday, having previously jumped as much as 12% after-hours on Thursday following the company's quarterly results.

Intel's success in the quarter and rosy outlook confirms what had already been made clear by Alphabet's earnings this week: that spending by the largest tech companies on hardware to support AI will continue.

With Wall Street expecting others in Big Tech to follow suit in forecasting higher spending, the position of Intel as well as other peers in hardware looks a lot more comfortable.

"For servers, we are modeling total server units up 30%+ [year-over-year], with server spending up 90% and remain constructive on demand from neo clouds, sovereigns, along with enterprise agentic AI-led infrastructure refresh benefitting server hardware [makers]," analysts at Citi said following Intel's results.

Intel is coming off a rough patch, with the shares closing Thursday at $100.23 on the back of a month that has seen the stock lose almost a quarter of its value. Friday's rally could be just the start of a return to dominance. The stock, tapped as one of Barron's picks for 2026 , remains up almost 150% this year.

"We're encouraged by these strong results and are raising estimates," analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets said after Intel's earnings. KeyBanc reiterated its Overweight rating for Intel and $155 price target, implying a near 50% gain for the stock from Thursday's closing level.

Even those more neutral on Intel feel the optimism.

"Results in the quarter reflect the growing importance of CPUs and advanced packing. We view the aggressive Capex raise as a proof point that Intel is likely to see continued customer acquisition as the United States demands more domestic semiconductor manufacturing," said analysts at D.A. Davidson.

While D.A. Davidson reiterated its Neutral rating on Intel, it significantly hiked the price target to $100 from $77.

Intel reported adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share on revenue of $16.1 billion, beating analysts' expectations of earnings at 22 cents per share on revenue of $14.4 billion.

"AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute, and as we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth," said CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com

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July 24, 2026 08:56 ET (12:56 GMT)