Intel INTC Q2 2026: Revenue Jumps 25% in Strongest Growth in 15 Years
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on July 23, 2026.
Intel's AI data center business exploded 59% to power a blowout quarter, with total revenue jumping 25% year-over-year to $16.13 billion while non-GAAP EPS of $0.42 crushed the $0.22 estimate by 93%. CEO Lip-Bu Tan called it the company's strongest revenue growth in 15 years as AI-driven compute demand continues to reshape the chip industry.
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Intel's AI data center business surged 59% in the second quarter of 2026, acting as the primary engine behind a blowout result that pushed total revenue to $16.13 billion — up 25% from the $12.83 billion Intel posted in Q2 2024. That compares favorably with even the most recent quarters: revenue had been hovering in the $13 billion range since Q3 2024 before this sharp acceleration, making the Q2 2026 print the highest in the nine-quarter trend by a wide margin.
The earnings beat was equally striking. Intel reported non-GAAP EPS of $0.42 against an analyst estimate of roughly $0.22, a 93% beat that signals the cost structure is leveraging into the revenue rebound. CEO Lip-Bu Tan described the result as the company's strongest revenue growth in 15 years, a characterization that underscores just how dramatically AI-driven compute demand has shifted the demand picture for Intel's products.
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The quarterly revenue trend tells a clear story: after bottoming near $12.67 billion in Q1 2025 and grinding slowly back toward $13.7 billion over the next three quarters, Intel broke decisively higher in Q2 2026. Investors will now be watching whether the AI data center momentum can be sustained — and whether the bottom-line improvement holds as the company scales to meet that demand.
Mentioned: INTC