Story perspectives

Intel Q2 Beats Forecasts, Secures First 18A Order

7/24/2026

Summary

Intel Beats Forecasts

Intel Corp. reported Q2 2026 revenue of $16.13 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, surpassing LSEG forecasts of $14.42 billion and $0.21 per share.
The 25% revenue rise was the strongest in over fifteen years.
Adjusted gross margin increased to 41.8%, above the 38.8% consensus.
DCAI revenue hit $6.26 billion, up 59% YoY, while foundry revenue grew 31% to $5.77 billion and posted a $2.09 billion loss equal to 84% of DCAI profit.

Summary

Intel Secures 18A

Intel secured a cloud provider’s manufacturing commitment for the 18A node, confirming its first external commercial order.
Xeon 6700P CPUs will support 8000 MT/s RDIMM memory, raising bandwidth 20 % and speed 25 % and cutting latency ~6 % in Aug-Sep 2026.
Intel deepened its AI tie-up with Google Cloud by deploying Gemini Enterprise across its AI operations.
ASML confirmed Intel will use High-NA EUV lithography and 18A yields rose to about 85 % from 65 %.

History

Historical Context

In February 1999 Intel introduced the Pentium III, a 32-bit CPU on a 180 nm process that added SSE and ran at 450 MHz. Its success prompted a $5.5 billion fab investment and lifted Intel’s revenue to $9.5 billion that year. The same leap-frogging of process nodes—from 180 nm then to the 18A node in 2026—feeds today’s AI partnership with Google Cloud and ASML, driving a $16 billion Q2 surge.

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Intel Beats Forecasts

Intel Corp. reported Q2 2026 revenue of $16.13 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, surpassing LSEG forecasts of $14.42 billion and $0.21 per share.
The 25% revenue rise was the strongest in over fifteen years.
Adjusted gross margin increased to 41.8%, above the 38.8% consensus.
DCAI revenue hit $6.26 billion, up 59% YoY, while foundry revenue grew 31% to $5.77 billion and posted a $2.09 billion loss equal to 84% of DCAI profit.

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