Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Issues Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.000-0.000 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.010. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.7 billion-$12.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.6 billion.

Intel Price Performance

NASDAQ:INTC traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $54.32. 168,439,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 136,272,672. The company has a market cap of $259.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5,437.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 30.45 and a beta of 1.35. Intel has a 1 year low of $17.67 and a 1 year high of $54.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The chip maker reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.07. Intel had a net margin of 0.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.75%. The firm had revenue of $13.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.37 billion. Intel has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.000-0.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Intel will post -0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on INTC. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Intel in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp upgraded Intel from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Intel from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Intel from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Intel from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $41.55.

Key Headlines Impacting Intel

Here are the key news stories impacting Intel this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Intel reported $0.15 EPS on $13.67B revenue, both topping consensus and showing the company’s turnaround traction. Intel Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI / data-center demand remains a tailwind — analysts and articles highlighted strong server CPU demand and a positive long-term thesis for Intel’s data-center and foundry businesses that helped lift the stock into earnings. Intel results to spotlight turnaround efforts as AI data centers boost chip demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street momentum ahead of results — multiple upgrades and bullish commentary (HSBC, Seaport, others) pushed the stock to multi‑year highs before the report, increasing volatility risk around the print. HSBC Just Doubled Its Price Target on Intel Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Very soft Q1 guidance — Intel guided Q1 EPS at 0.000–0.000 (vs. consensus ~0.01) and revenue $11.7B–$12.7B (midpoint slightly below estimates), a primary driver of the selloff as it implies near-term margin and execution pressure. Intel forecasts first-quarter sales and profit below estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints hurting ability to meet demand — management said shortages are limiting shipments of key server chips, which raises concern that revenue growth may be capped despite strong demand. Intel Struggles to Meet Demand, CEO Says After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after hours — media and market reports flagged a double‑digit implied move and a post‑earnings drop as investors reprice the stock for weaker near‑term guidance and margin pressure. Intel Misses Q4, Warns Worse Ahead on Supply Crunch — Stock Drops 7% After Hours

Institutional Trading of Intel

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Intel by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,001,621 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $838,804,000 after buying an additional 9,503,402 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Intel by 66.4% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 19,396,839 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $434,489,000 after acquiring an additional 7,736,635 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Intel during the third quarter worth approximately $114,366,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Intel during the third quarter worth approximately $67,369,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in Intel by 405.2% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,406,285 shares of the chip maker’s stock valued at $53,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929,986 shares during the period. 64.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Intel

Intel Corporation, founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon E. Moore and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading global designer and manufacturer of semiconductor products. The company is historically notable for introducing the first commercial microprocessor and for driving the x86 architecture that underpins many personal computers and servers. Intel’s core business spans the design, fabrication and marketing of processors, chipsets and related components for a wide range of computing applications.

Intel’s product portfolio includes client and mobile processors marketed under brands such as Intel Core and Pentium, as well as high-performance Xeon processors for data centers and cloud infrastructure.