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Intel Shares Soar On Strong AI-Fueled Outlook, Surpassing August 2000 Peak
Chipmaker Intel, which less than a year ago was trading like a distressed company, and required a capital infusion from the US government, and earlier today hit a 90x forward PE...
... soared after hours after giving a strong sales forecast for the current period, signaling that the recently struggling chipmaker is finally beginning to benefit from the giant build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure. But before we get there, here is a quick look at what the company reported for the first quarter:
- Adjusted EPS 29c vs. 13c y/y, beating estimate 1.0c
- Revenue $13.58 billion, +7.2% y/y, beating estimates of $12.36 billion
- Intel Products revenue $12.78 billion, +8.7% y/y, beating estimate $11.53 billion
- Client Computing revenue $7.73 billion, +1.3% y/y, beating estimate $7.1 billion
- Datacenter & AI revenue $5.05 billion, +22% y/y, beating estimate $4.41 billion
- Intel Foundry revenue $5.42 billion, +16% y/y, beating estimate $4.81 billion
- All Other revenue $628 million, -33% y/y, beating estimate $605.3 million
- Intersegment eliminations revenue -$5.25 billion, -12% y/y
- R&D expenses $3.38 billion, -7.3% y/y, beating estimate $3.18 billion
- Adjusted gross margin 41% vs. 39.2% y/y, beating estimates of 34.5%
- Adjusted operating income $1.67 billion vs. $690 million y/y, beating estimate $386.2 million
- Adjusted operating margin 12.3% vs. 5.4% y/y, beating estimate 3.08%
The Intel Foundry Services division - the company’s factory unit - generated revenue of $5.4 billion, up 16%. That unit currently relies almost exclusively on Intel product divisions for orders, though it is seeking outside customers. Its PC chip division had revenue of $7.7 billion, and the data center unit posted sales of $5.1 billion. All of those totals topped Wall Street estimates. Gross margin was 41% on an adjusted basis. When Intel was at the height of its powers, it regularly reported margins north of 60%. It predicted a margin of 39% in the current period.
Commenting on the results, CFO David Zinsner said that “we remain focused on maximizing our factory network to improve available supply and meet our customers’ needs throughout the year.“
CEO Lip-Bu Tan chimed in: “The next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user, moving from foundational models to inference to agentic. This shift is significantly increasing the need for Intel’s CPUs and wafer and advanced packaging offerings."
While Q1 results were solid, especially at the data center level, it was the Q2 forecast that caught the market's attention:
- Revenue will be $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion in the quarter ending in June, beating estimates of $13 billion.
- Adjusted EPS will be about 20 cents a share, also beating estimates of 9 cents.
- Margin is projected to rise to 39.0%,
The upbeat outlook suggests that CEO Lip-Bu Tan is making progress on a challenging comeback plan. After lining up major investments in Intel last year which helped to strengthen the company’s balance sheet - Thursday’s results suggest he’s now delivering on a promise to improve its operations.
The earnings report shows that the need for data center chips to power the massive AI expansion is lifting demand for Intel’s flagship Xeon server processors. That type of generalist semiconductor is a renewed focus for companies trying to turn their AI software into services that bring in revenue.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Tan said Intel delivered a “solid result” that was ahead of its projections. He expects the strong demand for processors used in AI systems to expand and said the company is “laser-focused” on increasing output from Intel’s factories, which still can’t produce enough to fill all its orders.
“There is huge demand,” Tan said. “We are working very hard with our team to make sure we deliver, that we meet that demand but we are still short because the demand keeps increasing from the customers.
And, as Bloomberg notes, for now Intel has also been able to navigate another challenge the PC industry is facing: memory-chip shortages.
To be sure, the company has a long way to go to restore its former chip-industry glory. Its annual revenue of $53 billion last year was roughly $25 billion shy of the company’s peak revenue, achieved in 2021, when the stock was far lower. Wall Street projects 3% growth in 2026.
Red-hot demand for server products has lured memory suppliers into concentrating on the high-speed processors for those machines. That’s cut into production of standard products used in phones and personal computers, meaning fewer of those mass-market devices are being built and the prices are going up.
In addition to making progress on production, Tan has restored Intel’s balance sheet via outside investments - to the point where the company bought back part of a factory in Ireland that it had been forced to sell to raise cash. That purchase was seen as a sign of future confidence by investors. Adding to the optimism, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that he will use Intel technology as part of his effort to build an in-house chip manufacturing plant. Tan declined to provide further details on the relationship.
Finally, Intel said it would spend more than originally budgeted on capex, according to CFO Dave Zinsner. The company has plenty of factory space and will add more machines to fill it out, he said. Capital expenditures will now be about flat from where they were last year. Intel had earlier said it planned to reduce its outlay.
In response to the strong earnings and guidance, Intel shares rose 14% in extended trading. The stock had gained 81% this year before the results were released, closing at $66.78. This has now pushed the company's fwd PE well above 100x.
With the 14% surge after hours, Intel stock has finally surpassed its dot com bubble high of $74.88 hit in August of 2000.
As Shay Boloor writes, "all it took was a CPU shortage, AI agents, SpaceX + TSLA terafabs and a bit of help from the U.S. government + NVDA."
Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 16:46LaGuardia firefighter heard ‘stop, stop’ before crash but didn’t know who it was for, NTSB says
Israel Waiting For US Greenlight To Renew Iran War: New 'Targets Marked', Says Katz
It should come as no surprise that the Netanyahu government is not happy with this current lull in the Iran war, as Trump's initially declared 3-5 day ceasefire extension has become more of an indefinite truce, with the Hormuz Strait blockade still on.
Israel is now preparing for the possibility of a return to fighting, the country's media is on Thursday reporting. Israel's leadership has consistently stated that it wants to see regime change or else total government and societal collapse, saying that only then would Iran never more be a 'threat to Israel.
Fresh remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz have made clear that "Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran. The IDF is prepared for both defense and offense, and the targets are marked."
But tellingly, he admitted a big obstacle stands in the way before the go ahead for a renewed bombing campaign can be given.
"We are waiting for the green light from the U.S., first and foremost, to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty and to return Iran to the dark and stone ages by destroying Iran's major energy and power facilities," Katz said.
"This time, our strikes will be different and more deadly, and will deliver further devastating blows to the most painful places, which will shake and collapse the regime's foundations," he added.
Currently, the only place where Israeli forces are still actively engaged in combat related to the Iran conflict is in Lebanon. Technically a 10-day ceasefire, which is hanging by a thread, is still on.
But there has been ongoing fighting and shelling targeting Hezbollah in the south, and the last days have seen it grow more intense, per local reports.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to chair security consultations on Thursday evening, against backdrop of growing difficulties in the US-Iran talks, which appear to have been effectively frozen for the time being.
Israel says it is "prepared for any scenario" and is without doubt intensifying its intelligence-gathering and military preparedness, which includes the urgent restocking of its dwindled interceptor and missile arsenal.
Israel Defense Minister Katz:
Israel is prepared to renew the war against Iran. Waiting on a U.S. green light. pic.twitter.com/MTGFSAe5wh
Al Arabiya, citing Israel Channel 13 is reporting that there's general anticipation in Israel that the war could resume "by the end of the week."
Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 16:40Meta to ax 8,000 jobs as Zuckerberg doubles down on AI and white-collar bloodbath picks up
Iran parades missiles as Trump extends ceasefire amid war tensions
Page Six editors share their favorite Mother’s Day gift ideas: ‘Buttery soft’ lounge sets to custom jewelry
Page Six editors share their favorite Mother’s Day gift ideas: ‘Buttery soft’ lounge sets to custom jewelry
Doug Martin, former Vikings star, dead at 68
‘SLOMW’ star Layla Taylor dishes on new fashion collection, ‘Mormon Wives’ drama and more with VRT
‘SLOMW’ star Layla Taylor dishes on new fashion collection, ‘Mormon Wives’ drama and more with VRT
Euthanasia Is Now 6% Of All Deaths In The Netherlands
Euthanasia is now responsible for 6 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands, and this figure is increasing every year.
According to a report by the regional euthanasia review committee (RTE), cited by the news portal Hirado, 10,341 people died by euthanasia in 2025, and while three-quarters of the applicants were over 70 years old, one case involved someone between the age of 12 and 18.
The number of those choosing to die by euthanasia due to mental illnesses decreased by almost a fifth (174 cases), but more than 85 percent suffered from physical diseases such as cancer, nervous system disorders, and lung or cardiovascular diseases.
There were 499 cases of euthanasia performed on patients with dementia, and the RTE investigated 11 cases where the patient was no longer competent. In addition, 475 cases involved the co-existence of multiple age-related illnesses, and 278 cases involved “other reasons.”
Pro-life advocates have argued that these “other reasons” often include selfish human interests, such as family members pressuring or emotionally manipulating an older relative to go through with euthanasia in order to obtain inheritance faster. In these cases, euthanasia is often carried out even when, according to supporters, it could not be justified.
Another seven cases involved doctors who did not fully comply with the required standards of care, and these are under investigation.
Just recently in Spain, a 25-year-old woman, Noelia Castillo Ramos, ended her life, despite her parents waging a two-year legal battle, fighting until the last minute for their daughter’s life. Although a ruling by the Constitutional Court in Madrid states that euthanasia cannot be used in cases where the source of suffering is mental illness, since “the state has the duty to protect these individuals from the risk of suicide,” Castillo Ramos was nevertheless was allowed to go through with euthanasia.
According to the Christian Lawyers organization, which represented the woman’s parents at various levels during the legal battle, “this case highlights the failure of the euthanasia law, since it facilitates suicide without the individual having received prior mental health treatment,” meaning that they would have had a chance to recover and live a full and happy life.
Spain’s Catholic bishops warned that “euthanasia and assisted suicide are not medical acts, but deliberate interruptions of the bond of care, and represent a social defeat when presented as a response to human suffering.”
In Castillo’s specific case, they added, “we are not dealing with a fatal illness, but with deep wounds that cry out for attention, treatment and hope.” Their call was also significant because it could help prevent further cases that lead to the taking of innocent lives.
The Spanish bishops also reminded society that “the dignity of the human person does not depend on their state of health, their subjective perception of life or their degree of autonomy,” but rather “is an intrinsic value that must be recognized, protected and helped in all circumstances.” For this reason, the response to human suffering “can never be to cause death, but rather to offer closeness, accompaniment, appropriate care and comprehensive support.”
“When life hurts, the answer is not to shorten the path, but to walk it together. Only in this way can we build a truly just society, where no one feels alone or excluded,” they concluded.
A group of Dutch experts in the field of child psychiatry recently called attention to the need to be particularly careful when it comes to cases of young people under the age of 25 requesting euthanasia due to psychological suffering. Their research suggests that the decision-making abilities of members of this age group can be influenced by brain development and a number of external influences.
According to the professors cited, the condition of those under the age of 25 is less likely to be considered permanent than that of those older than them. In addition, they are more exposed to social pressure and online influences, which can cause significant damage and lead them to make a compulsive and short-sighted decision.
Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 16:20