Overview
- Intel shares, which surged Friday following a first‑quarter beat and higher second‑quarter guidance, hit record levels with gains in the mid‑20% range on signs that CPUs are back at the heart of AI inference.
- The company reported $13.6 billion in Q1 revenue and $0.29 in adjusted EPS, with data center and AI sales up 22% to about $5.1 billion, and it guided to $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion in Q2 revenue with $0.20 in EPS; inference is when AI answers user queries and it often uses CPUs to coordinate accelerators and move data.
- Intel’s finance chief said supply was tight and prices were higher in Q1, and the company sold previously shelved or de‑spec chips to meet demand, a lift he cautioned may not repeat in Q2.
- Elon Musk said Tesla plans to use Intel’s next‑gen 14A manufacturing process for its Terafab project in Austin with an expected spend of roughly $3 billion, signaling fresh momentum for Intel’s foundry push against TSMC.
- Nvidia rose about 4% Friday to a record close that put its market value back above $5 trillion, and the chip rally lifted peers like AMD and Qualcomm as analysts raised Intel targets and highlighted a CPU revival theme.