TLDR
- Intel stock rose 12.06% on Wednesday, hitting an all-time intraday high of $94.95
- Q1 2026 revenue grew 7% year-over-year to $13.6 billion, Intel’s biggest beat in over five years
- Q2 2026 guidance projects revenue of $13.8B–$14.8B, up 7–14.7% from the same period last year
- Jim Cramer called Intel’s quarter “outstanding,” crediting CEO Lip-Bu Tan for a “profound cultural shift”
- Cramer believes Intel and AMD will “do very well for the rest of the year” driven by CPU demand in the AI era
Intel (INTC) stock climbed 12.06% on Wednesday, closing at $94.75 after briefly touching an all-time intraday high of $94.95. The move followed a strong earnings report and bullish commentary from Jim Cramer on Mad Money.
Cramer said the quarter was one he didn’t even see coming. “Even I didn’t expect this formerly iconic chipmaker to report such an outstanding quarter,” he told viewers. “It did the impossible — it somehow lived up to the sky-high expectations.”
Intel posted Q1 2026 revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7% from $12.7 billion in Q1 2025. Cramer described it as Intel’s biggest revenue beat in more than five years, with margins also expanding.
The stock had already surged 23.6% the day earnings were reported on April 24, hitting a prior all-time high. Wednesday’s session added another 12% on top of that.
Cramer pointed to CEO Lip-Bu Tan as the driving force behind the turnaround. Tan took over just over a year ago. “I think there’s been a profound cultural shift in Intel,” Cramer said. “When you listen to him on the conference call, Intel sounds like a company that is firing on all cylinders.”
Intel’s AI-Driven CPU Demand Fuels the Beat
The revenue beat was driven by strong CPU demand, fueled by what Cramer called “the next leg of the AI revolution.” Intel CFO David Zinsner noted that surging CPU demand helped support pricing, which fed directly into the better-than-expected margins.
Cramer also highlighted that Intel’s latest server CPUs are seeing their fastest new product ramp in five years.
Intel’s Q2 2026 guidance projects revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. That represents growth of 7% to 14.7% compared to $12.9 billion in Q2 2025. Last year’s Q2 was flat versus Q2 2024, making the current guidance stand out further.
Cramer Flags AMD and Arm Too
On the broader chip complex, Cramer said he believes companies in the CPU space — specifically Intel and AMD — will perform well through the rest of the year.
AMD rose 4.30% on the day, while Arm Holdings dipped 1.53%. Cramer noted that stocks seen as “copycats” of Intel got hit harder during the session, but said he viewed that as a buying opportunity.
Cramer did add a note of caution on timing. “Today’s parabolic move says you missed it,” he said. “But this market could go down in a heartbeat, and then you’re going to get another chance.”
Intel’s Q1 2026 earnings call confirmed the server CPU ramp is the fastest the company has seen in five years.
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