Intel Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $14.4 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.22 after market close on Thursday, capping a week in which the chipmaker also announced its most important foundry milestone in years: 85% wafer yields on the 18A node and a first external cloud service provider signed on for high-volume manufacturing.
Data Center And AI Segment In Focus
Analysts came into the release watching Data Center and AI Group revenue against the 22% year-over-year growth Intel posted in Q1. Management guided gross margin to about 39% and revenue in a range of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion for the current quarter; consensus had modeled adjusted EPS of $0.20 to $0.22 and revenue of $14.4 billion. Options markets were pricing a 12% move in either direction into the print.
Intel closed Tuesday, July 21, up 8.4% on a trio of catalysts: select Xeon 6700P processors will support 8,000 MT/s RDIMM by August or September for a 20% memory-bandwidth uplift, an expanded AI collaboration with Google Cloud around Gemini Enterprise, and confirmation that a first cloud customer had signed a high-volume 18A manufacturing agreement.
18A Yields Reach 85%, ASML Confirms High-NA Lead
Intel confirmed that 18A wafer yields climbed to roughly 85%, up from 65% last quarter, closing the gap on TSMC's N2 node at approximately 90%. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said on the July 15 earnings call that Intel is the first company to ship high-volume logic chips using the company's High-NA EUV scanners. Apple and Microsoft have publicly confirmed as 18A design partners.
Guidance And Watch Items
Investors were also parsing Q3 guidance for evidence that the 163% YTD rally in the U.S. semiconductor complex can hold as the SOXX index entered a technical bear market this week. Any additional detail on 18A external revenue recognition, DCAI growth versus Q1, and comments on Panther Lake qualification with Apple or Microsoft would be closely watched. Intel executives are due to discuss the results with analysts on a 2:00 p.m. PDT conference call.
The print landed the same day SpaceX targeted its next Starship test flight and a day after Tesla reported record Q2 revenue, extending a torrent of Big Tech disclosures this week.
Reporting based on coverage from Intel, TradingKey, Alphastreet and Stock Titan.