TLDR
- Intel stock has surged over 166% in 2026, hitting a record close of $99.62 on May 2.
- The stock rose 114% in April alone, outpacing the S&P 500’s 10.4% monthly gain.
- Key catalysts: partnership deals with Tesla and Google, a blowout Q1 earnings report, and strong AI chip demand.
- Intel is now selling chips that fail quality tests — customers are paying a premium for the working sections.
- As of Monday, INTC was trading down around 1% at $98.62, with investors weighing profits against further upside.
Intel stock hit a record close of $99.62 on Friday, May 2, before pulling back around 1% to $98.62 by late Monday morning.
The dip comes after a historic run. Intel gained 114.1% in April 2026 alone, making it one of the best single months for the chipmaker in decades. The S&P 500 returned 10.4% over the same period.
The stock has now risen more than 166% in 2026 overall, and is up over 400% from its 52-week low set in May 2025.
Three events drove Intel’s April surge.
On April 9, Intel’s Foundry division announced a long-term partnership with Tesla as a founding partner of the planned Terafab chip-making facility. On the same day, Alphabet committed to using Intel Xeon processors and jointly developed accelerators in Google Cloud’s AI operations. That week alone, the stock gained 10.5%.
Then came earnings. On April 23, Intel reported Q1 revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7% year over year. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.29 per share — far ahead of the $0.02 analysts had expected. Revenue also beat estimates of $12.4 billion.
The Data Center and AI division grew revenue by 22%. Foundry sales rose 16%. Intel stock jumped 23.6% the following day.
Intel Selling Defective Chips at a Premium
The third catalyst was unusual. Intel confirmed that AI chip demand is so strong that customers are paying top dollar for chips that failed parts of quality testing.
Intel can disable the sections of a chip with manufacturing defects, and still find buyers willing to pay a premium for the working parts. These chips previously would have been scrapped. The news drove another 12.1% jump on April 29.
It’s a telling sign of just how tight AI chip supply remains right now.
The U.S. government took an effective 10% stake in Intel last August, making it the largest single investor in the company. Since that investment, the stock has risen more than fourfold.
How Intel Stacks Up Against Rivals
Despite the massive rally, Intel’s valuation remains well below its peers. The stock currently trades at 9.0 times trailing sales. AMD trades at 16.0 times, and Nvidia at 30.3 times.
Intel surpassed its dot-com era all-time high in 2025 — a milestone that took more than 25 years to reach.
The current wobble is not surprising given the scale of the run. After four straight days of strong gains following earnings, some profit-taking is expected.
As of Monday, May 4, INTC was trading at $96.64, within the day’s range of $96.26 to $99.83. The 52-week range sits between $18.96 and $100.45.
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