Intel Revenue Jumps 21% on Data Center Surge, but Fourth-Quarter Outlook Dips

Intel's third-quarter revenue rose 21% to $16.5 billion, and the company said revenue, gross margin and earnings per share all came in ahead of its own guidance, helped by what its finance chief called the strongest data center revenue growth in 15 years, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Thursday.

GAAP earnings attributable to Intel were $0.60 a diluted share, down from $0.90 a year earlier, while non-GAAP EPS more than doubled to $0.52 from $0.23. GAAP net income attributable to Intel fell 18% to $3.3 billion; non-GAAP net income rose 169% to $2.8 billion.

Data center surges, PCs soften

Revenue in the Data Center and AI group jumped 78% to $7.3 billion. The Client Computing and Physical AI Group, Intel's PC chip unit, posted revenue of $8.1 billion, down 5%. Total Intel Products revenue rose 22% to $15.4 billion, and Intel Foundry revenue climbed 58% to $6.7 billion, before intersegment eliminations.

"Despite near-term headwinds across the PC industry, demand for our CPUs remains robust, reinforcing our confidence in the long-term growth opportunities for our business," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in the release. "Our immediate priority is to unlock additional supply to meet extraordinary demand for our Xeon family."

CFO David Zinsner said the company sees "the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year," and that Intel will keep making "disciplined investments in capacity and working capital to increase supply and support future growth."

Margins widen

GAAP gross margin rose 4.8 percentage points to 43.0%, and non-GAAP gross margin rose 4.1 points to 44.1%. GAAP operating margin improved to 15.3% from 5.0%, while the non-GAAP operating margin reached 19.6%, up from 11.2%.

Research and development plus marketing, general and administrative expenses rose 4% to $4.5 billion on a GAAP basis. Intel generated $5.1 billion in cash from operations during the quarter.

Capital and deals

Among the quarter's highlights, Intel said it completed a $23 billion public equity offering to support future growth while maintaining a strong balance sheet and investment-grade rating. It also announced plans to acquire Classiq, a quantum software company, and a multiyear collaboration with Oracle to expand Xeon-based computing on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

The company also named Dean Jarnac executive vice president and chief sales officer, leading its global sales organization.

Fourth-quarter outlook

Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion, below the third quarter's $16.5 billion. At the midpoint, it expects GAAP gross margin of 37.1% and non-GAAP gross margin of 38.0%, with GAAP EPS of $0.10 and non-GAAP EPS of $0.25.

By the numbers

• $16.5 billion: third-quarter revenue, up 21%
• $7.3 billion: Data Center and AI revenue, up 78%
• $0.52: non-GAAP EPS, versus $0.23 a year earlier
• 43.0%: GAAP gross margin, up 4.8 points
• $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion: fourth-quarter revenue forecast

Sources

1. Intel Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 29, 2026 (accession 0000050863-26-000188)

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