Not long ago, Intel looked like a fallen giant. Now, the chipmaker has posted its "strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Thursday.
The company's second-quarter results sent shares up more than 11% in after-hours trading.
The company reported revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. It also reported adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, nearly double Wall Street's expectations.
The company's data center and AI (DCAI) business — an area where it has struggled to keep pace with category leader Nvidia — grew 59% year over year to $6.3 billion.
The results come days after Intel said it was planning layoffs in its data center group as part of an efficiency push. The results suggest Intel is gaining traction after missing much of the early AI boom. In recent years, it has also been beset by manufacturing delays and lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In 2025, the US government took a 9.9% stake in the chip company.
Today, the company is betting big on its foundry business, which manufactures chips for third-party customers. The strategy helps Intel diversify beyond designing its own chips and brings it closer into competition with manufacturing leader TSMC.
That said, Emarketer senior analyst Jacob Bourne called the foundry business "a work in progress," noting it "lost $2.1 billion and has yet to land the major customers Intel's strategy depends on."
Tan attributed the company's improving performance to better execution — namely, "greater speed, accountability, and customer focus."