AI demand drives performance beyond expectations, Intel sharply increases capital expenditures to US$20 billion
(Intel) announced its second quarter financial report as of the end of June 2026. Both revenue and profits far exceeded market expectations. The company simultaneously raised its full-year capital expenditure plan to more than US$20 billion. The financial report showed that revenue for the quarter reached US$16.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25%, the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2011, and nearly US$2 billion higher than analysts’ expectations of US$14.4 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, net profit was US$2.2 billion and earnings per share were US$0.42, twice the market expectation of US$0.21, and a loss in the same period last year. Gross profit margin reached 41.8%, an increase of 12.1 percentage points compared with the same period last year. As customer demand signals are extremely strong and continue to exceed supply capacity, the company has raised its full-year capital expenditure forecast for 2026 to more than US$20 billion from the previous US$18 billion, and predicted that capital expenditures in 2027 will be significantly higher than the level in 2026, with most of them invested in the US domestic manufacturing network. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said that the company has signed multiple long-term agreements with customers for 3 to 5 years, covering data center CPU and XPU chips. The company expects third-quarter revenue between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion, higher than analysts' expectations of $15.1 billion, with adjusted earnings per share expected to be $0.38.