Intel Q3 2026 earnings: AI-driven data center demand lifts profit as PC sales soften
Intel's Q3 2026 profit and sales beat forecasts, fueled by booming AI and data-center chip demand, even as PC sales and foundry losses weighed on the picture.
| Q3 2026 | Reported | Expected | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | $0.52 | $0.40 | +30.1% |
| Revenue | $16.51B | $16.78B | -1.6% |
Key takeaways
- Both profit and sales came in ahead of what Wall Street analysts were expecting for the quarter, a sign the chipmaker’s turnaround efforts are gaining some traction.
- The biggest driver was data center and AI chips: Intel’s finance chief, David Zinsner, said that business posted its strongest revenue growth in 15 years, as demand for AI-related computing power continues to run hot.
- Sales in Intel’s PC-chip business declined from a year earlier, as the broader personal-computer market stayed soft — a trend management expects to continue into at least the first half of next year.
- Intel’s foundry unit, which manufactures chips for outside customers as well as Intel’s own products, grew its revenue but still lost money on an operating basis, underscoring how costly it remains to build out that new business while it ramps up.
- CEO Lip-Bu Tan pointed to ‘improving execution,’ progress expanding manufacturing supply, and continued advances in Intel’s chip-making process technology as signs the company’s recovery plan is working.
- Looking at the trailing twelve months rather than just this quarter, Intel’s bottom line is still in the red — a reminder that one strong quarter hasn’t yet offset the costs of restructuring and rebuilding its manufacturing business; gross margin near 39% shows the cost side of that recovery is still a work in progress.
- Intel’s outlook for the current quarter calls for revenue below what analysts had modeled, with management again citing the slow PC market as the main drag heading into next year.
Q3 2026 in context
| Metric | Sep 2026 | Sep 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $16.5B | $13.7B | +20.9% |
| Net income | $3.3B | $4.1B | -18.3% |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $121M | +774.4% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.60 | $0.90 | -33.3% |
| Gross margin | 43.0% | 38.2% | +4.8 pts |
| Operating margin | 15.3% | 5.0% | +10.3 pts |
| Net margin | 20.1% | 29.8% | -9.7 pts |
Figures for the quarter ended Sep 2026 and the quarter ended Sep 2025, as reported to the SEC.
Each company's quarter ending in calendar Q3 '26, as reported to the SEC. A peer that reported no revenue figure for that quarter is left out.
How the stock took it
Intel Corp closed at $95.53 on Oct 28, 2026, the last session before the report, and at $65.76 on Oct 30, 2026, the first session after it — -31.2% across the report.
Closes from the market's daily record. Each figure spans the report date — from the last session that closed before it to the first that closed after — because a company may report before the open or after the close.
Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 38.6% | Trailing 12 months |
| Operating margin | 9.4% | Trailing 12 months |
| Net profit margin | -19.8% | Trailing 12 months |
| Pretax margin | -17.3% | Trailing 12 months |
| EPS | -$2.12 | Trailing 12 months |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 7.5% | Trailing 12 months |
| Return on equity | -10.8% | Trailing 12 months |
Sources: company report · earnings call · CNBC · Converge Digest