Intel Q2 2026 Earnings Preview: Turning the Corner on Foundry and Advanced Packaging


Silicon giant Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is set to release its highly anticipated second-quarter 2026 financial results on Thursday, July 23. Following six consecutive quarters of outperforming its own internal financial guidance, all eyes are on whether Intel can prove its multi-billion dollar manufacturing turnaround is officially translating into sustainable corporate profits.

As the broader technology market experiences volatile swings over the sustainability of AI capital expenditures, Intel’s report will serve as a critical health check for domestic US chip supply chains.
Wall Street Expectations: The Midpoint Targets
According to consensus analyst projections compiled by market trackers, Intel is anticipated to post healthy double-digit growth numbers:
  • Projected Revenue: $14.42 billion USD (representing an ~11% to 12% increase year-over-year).
  • Projected Earnings Per Share (EPS): $0.21 to $0.22 non-GAAP (a massive reversal from the adjusted loss of $0.10 per share recorded in Q2 of last year).
  • Target Gross Margin: 39% at the company guidance midpoint.
The Core Focus: Intel 18A and Advanced Packaging Momentum
While legacy personal computer client processor sales remain a steady foundational revenue source, the true long-term thesis driving investor interest is Intel Foundry. 
Intel has spent the last several years heavily investing capital into building out a state-backed, sovereign domestic foundry footprint to directly challenge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Investors are eagerly searching for progress updates regarding Intel’s cutting-edge 18A process node, which recently entered initial risk production and secured high-profile validation agreements with major players like Microsoft and Apple. 
Furthermore, analysts are monitoring capacity yields for Intel’s domestic advanced packaging facilities. Advanced packaging has become the primary physical bottleneck in the global AI hardware ecosystem, and any positive milestones regarding Intel's capacity to package third-party AI accelerators could significantly boost long-term enterprise guidance.
Server CPUs Gain AI Tailwinds
Historically, the explosive rise of AI favored heavy graphical processing units (GPUs), temporarily hurting standard central processing unit (CPU) server segments. However, recent data center build architectures suggest the foundational ratio of CPUs to GPUs is improving in favor of server processors to assist with agentic AI application workloads. This structural change serves as a direct positive tailwind for Intel's Data Center and AI (DCAI) business division.

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