Intel stock rockets past $92 intraday, “up 120% this month”! Agentic AI sparks a wave of CPU shortages

The semiconductor giant has truly returned! Continuing the incredible momentum from its Q1 earnings report, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) surged nearly 9% again during today’s trading, breaking through the $90 mark and reaching a high of $92, pushing its market capitalization past $460 billion. Benefiting from the booming demand for CPUs driven by Agentic AI and new clients like Tesla, Intel has doubled in price since April, soaring over 120%, completely shedding its label as a laggard and becoming the hottest AI infrastructure dark horse in Wall Street’s eyes.
(Background recap: Intel and Apple reopen “chip meetings,” stock prices soar; Apple abandons M-series chips to return to Intel’s Core Ultra?)
(Additional background: Nvidia announces $5 billion investment in Intel: joint chip design collaboration, Intel pre-market jumps 30%)

Under the spotlight of Wall Street, the long-dormant semiconductor giant Intel is now performing the most astonishing “elephant dance” in U.S. stock history.

According to real-time trading data from the morning of April 29 Eastern Time, Intel (INTC) continued its strong momentum from the previous trading day (closing at $84.52), launching a fierce rally during the session, rising by as much as 7% to 9%, with the stock price breaking through the $90 mark and reaching a high of $91 to $92, allowing its total market value to easily surpass the $460 billion milestone.

Breaking the Millennium Curse, over 120% increase in April

This rally was not a sudden spike but a continuation of the crazy market trend since late April.

Just a few days ago, on April 24, after releasing its Q1 2026 earnings report, Intel skyrocketed by an astonishing 23.6% in a single day, setting the largest single-day gain in nearly 39 years and smashing the historical high ceiling set during the dot-com bubble in 2000. Data shows that INTC’s cumulative increase in April alone exceeded 120%, and so far this year, it has surged approximately 150%.

Q1 earnings beat expectations, Agentic AI sparks “scrap to gold” buying frenzy

The core driver behind today’s stock surge remains its robust fundamentals that far exceeded Wall Street expectations, along with a market narrative of a “complete turnaround”:

• Better-than-expected earnings and strong guidance: Q1 revenue reached $13.58 billion (up 7.2% year-over-year), with adjusted EPS soaring to $0.29, far surpassing the market’s pessimistic expectations of $0.01 to $0.02. At the same time, the company’s Q2 revenue guidance (between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion) also outperformed Wall Street consensus.
• New AI infrastructure dominance: Data center and AI business grew by as much as 22% annually. As “Agentic AI” applications explode, demand for high-performance CPUs in the server market is growing exponentially. Market rumors even suggest a severe CPU shortage, with previously considered marginal “scrap” products now turning into hot commodities.
• Transformation strategy paying off: Under the iron-fisted leadership of CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel’s foundry business has advanced rapidly and gained strong support from the U.S. government. More critically, Intel has successfully secured major new clients, including Tesla.

With a wave of positive news, the global capital markets’ view of Intel has fundamentally changed — it is no longer the laggard mired in difficulties but a crucial player in the next-generation AI infrastructure war.