Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) reported better-than-expected second-quarter results on Thursday, but warned that supply constraints across the AI ecosystem remain severe, with shortages expected to persist for the foreseeable future.
AI Infrastructure Bottlenecks Persist
Intel said the industry continues to face severe AI infrastructure constraints despite earlier expectations that supply would improve this year.
“Industry is facing one of the most severe supply constraints in its history across leading-edge logic, silicon wafers, memory, and substrates,” CEO Lip-Bu Tan told analysts during the earnings call, adding that “these shortages will persist for the foreseeable future.”
The company said artificial intelligence demand continues to exceed available supply across the ecosystem, making supply one of the biggest constraints on meeting customer demand.
“Memory has become the biggest supply constraint challenge, and we’re collaborating with the three major memory vendors,” Lip-Bu Tan added.
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AI Investment Despite Constraints
Intel raised its full-year capital expenditure forecast to more than $20 billion, up from its previous outlook of $18 billion.
“We must have pretty significant confidence in our customers, or we wouldn’t be putting the POs in place today,” Zinsner added.
Following the results, Deepwater Asset Management‘s Gene Munster said investors appeared comfortable with Intel’s higher capital spending because the company has earned the “benefit of the doubt” as a capital allocator, unlike Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
He added that Zinsner’s comment that Intel would not make those investments without confidence in customer demand may have reinforced investor confidence.
$INTC investors seem to be OK with a bump up in CapEx.
— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) July 23, 2026
I think they’re getting the benefit of the doubt when Google did not because investors believe the Intel is a better capital allocator.
Some of their confidence may have come from a comment from the CFO tonight…
Earnings, Q3 Forecasts Top Wall Street Estimates
Intel reported second-quarter revenue of $16.13 billion, topping analyst estimates of $14.42 billion.
Adjusted earnings came in at 42 cents per share, well above the consensus estimate of 21 cents, according to Benzinga Pro.
Intel guided for third-quarter revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, topping the consensus estimate of $15.01 billion, while forecasting adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share versus estimates of 24 cents per share.
Price Action: Shares of INTC fell 2.33% to $100.23 but gained 4.37% in extended trading on the earnings announcement after the bell.
Benzinga edge rankings indicate INTC has a Momentum score in the 99th percentile, while it has a negative price trend in the short term and a positive price trend in the medium and long term.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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