Intel’s Strongest Revenue Growth in 15 Years Points to 30% Upside

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction) just delivered its strongest revenue growth in more than 15 years, and our model sees more room to run. The stock trades at $100.23 after a stunning 171.63% year-to-date rally.

Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Intel is $130.66, implying 30.36% upside over the next 12 months. That earns a buy rating with a 90% confidence level. This is a high-conviction call anchored to a genuine earnings inflection.

The Rally Has Legs After a Blowout Q2

Intel reported Q2 fiscal 2026 on July 23, 2026, and the numbers reframed the story. Revenue hit $16.13 billion, up 25.4% year over year, beating estimates by 11.64%. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.42 versus a $0.10 estimate, a 320% surprise. The Data Center and AI segment surged 59% to $6.26 billion, and CEO Lip-Bu Tan called it “our strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years.”

The stock has cooled off recently, down 24.23% over the past month from a peak of $142.35, but shares are up 326.69% over the past year. That pullback has compressed the valuation multiple relative to peers.

Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead

The bull case rests on three pillars:

• AI demand for server CPUs is broadening, and Intel’s Xeon 6 was selected as the host CPU for NVIDIA DGX Rubin NVL8
• Intel 18A-P entered risk production on schedule, and Panther Lake is in high-volume manufacturing using ASML High NA EUV tools
• Intel raised 2026 CapEx to over $20 billion, signaling management confidence echoed by ecosystem partners

The $5 billion NVIDIA equity investment and $2 billion SoftBank investment add strategic ballast. If Q3 lands at the high end of guidance ($16.8 billion) with 42% non-GAAP gross margin, a bull-case path to $138.44 becomes credible.

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore raised the firm’s price target on Intel to $84 from $75 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. 

The Risks Worth Watching

The GAAP net loss of $11.03 billion looks ugly, driven by a $12.53 billion non-cash charge on CHIPS Act escrow shares, not operating deterioration. Operating income actually rose 156.55% year over year.

Intel Foundry is running roughly $2.1 billion in quarterly operating losses, and management flagged that Intel 14A could be paused if customer demand is insufficient. A bear case with Foundry misses and export-control friction points toward the model’s downside scenario of $96.58.

How Intel Compares to AMD and Qualcomm

AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) is the natural x86 rival. AMD posted Q1 fiscal 2026 revenue of $10.25 billion, up 37.9%, with Data Center up 57% to $5.78 billion. The stock trades at a trailing P/E of 203 with a market cap of $880 billion. Intel’s forward P/E of 119 looks defensible against that.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) trades at a trailing P/E of 33 with an operating margin of 27.9%. Intel is nowhere near that on profitability yet, but its growth is now double Qualcomm’s. On balance, the peer set makes our $130.66 target look reasonable rather than aggressive.

Intel Price Prediction 2026-2030

The 24/7 Wall St. price target is $130.66, the recommendation is buy, and confidence is high. The Q2 earnings inflection combined with sustained AI CPU demand tips the scale. The thesis strengthens if Q3 revenue lands above $16.3 billion with gross margin holding near 42%. The thesis weakens if Foundry losses widen materially or 18A yields disappoint.

Here is where our model projects Intel could trade in the coming years, extending base-case growth assumptions.

These projections assume Intel executes on 18A and 14A ramps and Foundry losses narrow steadily. Significant upside could come from anchor foundry customers signing multi-year commitments. Downside would come from a stalled 14A roadmap.

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