As Intel is set to announce its newest set of quarterly earnings, all eyes are on the company that is in a critical phase of its existence. Intel Corporation, which was once a struggling behemoth due to its own strategic decisions and intense competition in the sector, may finally be on the cusp of change, largely thanks to the rapid increase in demand for its artificial intelligence business from the data centre sector.
Only a few years ago, Intel was perceived as a traditional company that was finding it hard to match its competition in speed and agility. Its inadequate AI product strategy and inefficient organisational structure adversely affected its performance and reduced investor confidence to such an extent that massive layoffs took place in the organisation. However, times are changing now, as investor sentiment is largely positive about Intel’s revival, and its stock price is rising steeply by an impressive 84 per cent in 2025 compared to the whole semiconductor industry.
This optimism is far from misplaced, as a series of high-profile investments involving a committed $5 billion from the likes of Nvidia and $2 billion from SoftBank, as well as investment from the U.S. government, has strengthened the balance sheet of Intel. It is no coincidence that the investment space allowed a reboot of manufacturing and AI plans.
The latest excitement focuses almost entirely on one industry, which is AI data centres, as these massive data centres, which are the engines of cloud computing and generative AI processing, require phenomenal processing abilities, and Intel’s conventional server processors, which for a number of years have trailed the competition in certain markets, are again in the spotlight because data centre providers must develop the necessary infrastructure for AI capabilities.
This serves as a crucial reminder of the significance of both volume and innovative, cutting-edge semiconductors in relation to the ongoing AI boom, especially as AI accelerators gain popularity; the core of every data centre is fundamentally based on central processing units, with Intel being a leading player in this field. Hyperscale cloud leaders are locked into an intense effort of capacity buildouts as a result; demand is fast becoming the foundation of an Intel turnaround story itself.
This trend has not gone unnoticed by market observers, as several brokerages in recent months have boosted Intel’s price target or changed their rating on it in a sign of increased optimism about its strategic shift. Investors, previously cautious, are now prepared to embrace a potential shift in the company’s profitability.
The personal computer business unit at Intel reported a small level of growth, the only glimmer in this market that has traditionally been dominated by the likes of AMD and Arm architectures. The future for the PC market is uncertain, though, owing to an increase in memory cost and the possibility that this might discourage consumer spending.
With Intel’s earnings announcement approaching, the question is not just the numbers but also Intel’s trend. Will the AI data centre bubble keep momentum going, or will the company be able to hold pricing power in the face of increasing competition?
These developments might just transform the place of the company in the market in the coming years. The coming quarters might just define whether the company, which has spent so long fighting for a revival, is entering a new era of revitalisation or merely continuing a long series of comebacks.
