Intel shares surged over 22% in premarket trade, signaling strong demand for hardware powering advanced AI. If gains hold, the stock is set to hit a record high for the first time since 2000.
Despite missing the initial AI boom, Intel is capitalizing on demand for powerful central processing units (CPUs) in advanced AI systems. "The growing recognition of the role CPUs are playing in agentic AI workloads is a big factor," stated Bob O'Donnell, president and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan has implemented asset sales, job cuts, and cost controls, securing U.S. government and partner backing to support manufacturing. The rally also lifted sentiment across chip stocks, with AMD and TSMC seeing gains.
Intel forecast second-quarter revenue above expectations, with analysts citing demand for Xeon server CPUs powering data-center workloads and AI inference as key drivers. The company also secured Tesla as a customer for its next-generation 14A chipmaking process, a significant win for its contract manufacturing ambitions.