Shares of Intel Corp. climbed 3.4 percent on Thursday after the chipmaker reported a return to profitability, driven by stronger sales in its core personal computer processor business, lower costs, and accelerating demand for artificial intelligence chips.
Intel posted USD4.1 billion in net profit for the third quarter, a sharp turnaround from a USD16.6 billion loss in the same period last year, as it ramped up efforts to catch up with rivals NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices in developing advanced AI chips.
“This quarter’s results reflect our improved execution and the steady progress of our strategic priorities,” said Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan. “AI is accelerating demand for compute and creating attractive opportunities across our portfolio, including our core x86 platforms, new efforts in purpose-built ASICs and accelerators, and foundry services. Intel’s industry-leading CPUs and ecosystem, along with our unique US-based leading-edge logic manufacturing and R&D, position us well to capitalize on these trends over time.”
Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said Intel’s stronger-than-expected results mark the fourth consecutive quarter of improvement. “These results reflect the underlying strength of our core markets,” Zinsner said. “Current demand is outpacing supply — a trend we expect to persist into 2026.”
During the quarter, Intel generated USD2.5 billion in cash from operations. It also received USD5.7 billion from the US government as part of an USD8.9 billion agreement to boost American semiconductor manufacturing.
In addition, Intel announced collaborations with Nvidia for the joint development of custom data center and PC products and confirmed a USD5 billion investment deal. SoftBank Group also agreed to acquire USD2 billion worth of Intel shares, underscoring renewed investor confidence in the chipmaker’s comeback trajectory.
