Analysts Raise Intel Forecasts After Stronger-Than-Expected Performance
Strong Financial Performance: Intel Corp. reported third-quarter revenue of $13.65 billion and adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share, both exceeding analyst expectations.
AI Demand and Future Outlook: CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted that AI is driving demand for computing, positioning Intel well for future opportunities in various sectors, including ASICs and foundry services.
Fourth-Quarter Projections: Intel anticipates fourth-quarter revenue between $12.8 billion and $13.8 billion, with adjusted earnings expected to be eight cents per share, aligning with analyst estimates.
Analyst Price Target Adjustments: Following the earnings announcement, several analysts adjusted their price targets for Intel, with most maintaining their ratings while increasing targets significantly.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Analyst Views on INTC
About INTC
About the author

- Stock Volatility: Intel's stock plummeted nearly 17% in a single day following its Q4 2025 earnings release, despite a remarkable 111% increase over the past year, reflecting a conflict between investor confidence in the company's turnaround and short-term disappointment.
- Financial Performance Review: Intel reported $53 billion in revenue for 2025, flat year-over-year, with a non-GAAP profit of $0.42 per share, a significant improvement from a loss of $0.13 per share in 2024, indicating some success in cost control efforts.
- Supply Chain Challenges: The company highlighted that chip production is constrained by supply bottlenecks, limiting its ability to meet market demand, particularly in the current quarter, with production yields falling short of expectations, impacting overall performance.
- Future Outlook: Although analysts set a 12-month price target of $45 for Intel, with 70% recommending a hold, the gradual resolution of supply issues is expected to lead to higher revenue and earnings growth in 2026, suggesting potential upside for the stock.
- Collaboration Agreement: SoftBank's subsidiary Saimemory has signed a collaboration agreement with American chipmaker Intel to advance the commercialization of next-generation memory technology, particularly aimed at meeting the demands of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, with prototypes expected by fiscal year 2028.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the announcement, SoftBank's shares rose by 3.13%, while Intel's stock increased by 5% in overnight trading on Robinhood, indicating strong market optimism regarding this partnership, which could enhance both companies' competitiveness in the memory market.
- Innovation-Driven Technology: The collaboration will leverage Intel's expertise from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Memory Technology program, focusing on improving the performance and energy efficiency of Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) to meet the surging demand for AI applications, reflecting the urgent need for high-performance memory solutions.
- Energy Efficiency Focus: The Z-Angle Memory program emphasizes energy efficiency to address the vast energy consumption required for AI computing, highlighting the commitment of both companies to drive technological advancements while being mindful of sustainability and environmental impacts.
- Collaboration Agreement: SoftBank's subsidiary Saimemory has signed a collaboration agreement with Intel to advance the commercialization of next-generation memory technology, with prototypes expected by fiscal 2028 and commercialization targeted for fiscal 2029, significantly enhancing both companies' competitive positions in the AI and high-performance computing markets.
- Focus on Technological Innovation: The Z-Angle Memory program (ZAM) will concentrate on addressing the growing memory demands of artificial intelligence, particularly in energy efficiency, aiming to alleviate the current shortages faced by the memory supply chain and promote sustainable industry growth.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the announcement, SoftBank's shares rose by 3.13%, while Intel's stock increased by 5% on Robinhood, reflecting market optimism regarding this collaboration and indicating investor confidence in the future demand and potential of memory technology.
- Industry Context Analysis: As the demand for memory in AI applications surges, traditional memory architectures are failing to meet market needs; Intel's innovative memory architecture and assembly methods are set to enhance DRAM performance while reducing energy consumption, with broader adoption anticipated over the next decade.
- Earnings Beat: Sandisk reported a 61% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.03 billion in Q2, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion, highlighting its strong performance in the AI storage market and solidifying its market position.
- Price Increase Expectations: TrendForce forecasts that NAND flash contract prices are expected to rise by 33%-38% in Q1, which will directly drive profit growth for Sandisk, enhancing its competitive edge in the fiercely contested memory market.
- Analyst Upgrades: Several Wall Street analysts raised their price targets for Sandisk, reflecting expectations around rising prices and supply constraints, further propelling the stock's ascent and demonstrating market confidence in its future prospects.
- Strong Future Outlook: Sandisk forecasts Q3 revenue between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion, with adjusted earnings per share projected at $12 to $14, indicating that the company is poised to maintain growth momentum amid rising prices and profits.
- Significant Revenue Growth: Sandisk's revenue surged 61% year-over-year to $3.03 billion in Q2, significantly exceeding the market expectation of $2.69 billion, demonstrating the company's robust performance amid a memory shortage and solidifying its market position.
- Enhanced Profitability: Adjusted earnings per share skyrocketed from $1.23 a year ago to $6.20, reflecting a surge in prices that led to an increase in adjusted gross margin from 32.5% to 51.1%, indicating a substantial improvement in the company's profitability.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Sandisk forecasts Q3 revenue between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion, with adjusted earnings per share expected to double to $12-$14, showcasing strong confidence in future market demand, particularly driven by AI-related storage needs.
- Positive Market Reaction: Anticipation of rising memory prices led Wall Street analysts to raise Sandisk's price targets, contributing to the stock's gains nearly every trading day last month, reflecting investor optimism about the company's future performance.
- Stock Price Surge: Intel's shares rose approximately 5% on Monday, closing at $48.80 with a market cap of $232 billion, reflecting optimistic market sentiment regarding its future prospects.
- Potential Partnership: Rumors suggest that Apple may partner with Intel to manufacture custom-designed chips, which would provide a significant client for Intel's fledgling foundry business, enhancing its market credibility and financial backing.
- Customer Acquisition Boost: Aligning with Apple could accelerate Intel's customer acquisition efforts, and investors are reacting positively to this news, believing it will drive rapid growth in Intel's chip manufacturing operations.
- Executive Buy Signal: Intel's CFO David Zinsner purchased 5,882 shares at an average price of $42.50 on January 26, with this approximately $250,000 investment viewed as a bullish signal regarding the company's prospects, further bolstering market confidence.











