Intel Stock Drops Nearly 8% Despite Strong Q2 Earnings
Despite reporting a significant earnings beat in its second quarter, Intel's stock fell nearly 8% on July 24, 2026. The company exceeded Wall Street expectations with $16.1 billion in revenue and EPS of $0.38, well above forecasts. However, investors reacted negatively to the announcement that capital expenditures will rise over $20 billion this year due to increased demand for its products. Intel also announced layoffs within its data center business as part of a broader efficiency strategy. The stock had surged nearly 178% since January amid an aggressive turnaround under CEO Lip-Bu Tan and growing interest in AI-related technologies, including CPUs and foundry services. Reports indicate that Intel is gaining traction with major clients like Google for custom chip production. The company's data center revenue reached $6.3 billion—well above estimates—and client computing revenue also outperformed expectations at $8.9 billion. However, rising memory costs are affecting the client segment by reducing low-margin product availability and increasing prices on premium offerings.
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Topics: AI compute demand capital expenditures earnings stock price movement