Should You Add Intel Stock to Your Portfolio Ahead of Q2 Earnings?

Intel Corporation INTC is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 earnings after the closing bell on July 23. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales and earnings is pegged at $14.42 billion and 21 cents per share, respectively. Over the past 60 days, estimates for INTC have increased 1.9% to $1.07…

Intel Corporation INTC is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 earnings after the closing bell on July 23. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales and earnings is pegged at $14.42 billion and 21 cents per share, respectively. Over the past 60 days, estimates for INTC have increased 1.9% to $1.07 per share for 2026, while it has increased 4.17% to $1.50 for 2027.

INTC Estimate Trend

Earnings Surprise History

The leading semiconductor manufacturer delivered a stellar four-quarter earnings surprise of 996.88%, on average, beating estimates thrice. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings surprise was 2800.00%.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts a likely earnings beat for Intel for the second quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is exactly the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Intel currently has an ESP of +5.18% and sports a Zacks Rank #1.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Factors Shaping the Quarterly Performance

During the quarter, Intel continued to strengthen its AI and data center portfolio through several product launches. The company introduced Intel Xeon 6 Plus processors, built on its advanced 18A process technology. It features up to 288 Efficient-cores, 12-channel DDR5 memory and 96 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. Intel also expanded its 800 Series Ethernet portfolio with E835 controllers and network adapters.

In the to be reported quarter, Intel broadened its client computing portfolio with the launch of the Intel Arc G-Series processors for handheld gaming devices. Intel also partnered with Acer, MSI and OneXPlayer to bring these processors to next-generation handheld gaming systems. These initiatives are likely to strengthen Intel's presence in the growing portable gaming market.

The company entered a multi-year collaboration with Alphabet Inc. GOOGL. Per the deal, Alphabet aims to deploy Intel Xeon 6 CPUs to power Google Cloud’s data centers. Moreover, Google and Intel are also working together to develop custom Application-specific integrated circuit or ASIC-based Infrastructure Processing Units. The solution is engineered to support networking, storage and security tasks of the CPU and boost system efficiency.

In the quarter under review, Apple, Inc. AAPL held preliminary discussions with Intel regarding potential U.S.-based chip manufacturing. Intel to develop chips to power some Apple devices. Apple's interest is viewed as validation of Intel's improving foundry capabilities. Such innovative product launches and growing collaboration with industry leaders are expected to have a positive impact on upcoming quarters.

Price Performance

Over the past year, Intel has surged 308.6% compared with the industry’s growth of 24.6%, outperforming its peers, QCOM and AMD. While Qualcomm has gained 8%, AMD has soared 215.7% over this period.

Key Valuation Metric

From a valuation standpoint, Intel appears to be relatively cheaper than the industry but above its mean. Going by the price/sales ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 7.67 forward sales, lower than 9.52 for the industry but higher than the stock’s mean of 3.96.

Investment Consideration

AI workloads are increasingly moving from training toward inference, agentic AI, robotics, physical AI and edge deployments. Amid this, CPUs play a crucial role in coordinating accelerators, networking, memory, and data movement. Management has emphasized that AI-driven CPU demand is becoming Intel’s biggest growth engine.

The company’s custom Application-Specific Integrated Circuit business is growing, backed by increasing high networking demand in the AI buildouts. The company is gaining solid traction in the hyperscalers. Per a report from Grand View Research, the AI infrastructure market was valued at $223.45 billion in 2024 and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 30.4% by 2030. Intel, with its robust portfolio, is expected to gain from this market trend.

Intel is actively collaborating with major industry leaders to drive AI-related innovation. It collaborates with ChatGPT to launch a Hybrid AI PC Edition, marking a strategic move toward on-device intelligence. It has expanded its collaboration with Google to advance AI infrastructure. It has been collaborating with Nokia and Dell to drive 5G Edge innovations. Such initiatives are expected to boost Intel’s competitive edge across several domains against its major rivals, such as AMD and Qualcomm.

End Note

Strategic collaboration with industry leaders, several customer wins and expansion of AI infrastructure portfolio are major growth catalysts for the company. The company has been undertaking cost control measures and organizational simplifications to boost profitability and improve cash flow generation. Commercial PC refresh cycles and increasing AI PC adoption have created a solid growth opportunity. Upward estimate revision shows growing investors’ confidence in the stock’s growth potential. With a strong price performance, attractive valuation and a Zacks Rank #1, Intel appears to be a good investment option at the moment.

Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains

Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.

While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.

Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.

Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report