Intel Stock Soars as CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s Turnaround Strategy Wins Over Skeptical Investors

Intel shares rocket higher as Wall Street finally warms to a radical restructuring plan.

The Chipmaker's Gambit

Under Lip-Bu Tan, Intel is executing a high-stakes pivot. The strategy—a blend of aggressive foundry expansion and targeted R&D—is designed to reclaim lost ground. Analysts note the move mirrors the kind of bold, all-in bets that define tech turnarounds. It’s a play for relevance in an AI-dominated future.

Market Mechanics in Motion

Investor sentiment, once frosty, has undergone a rapid thaw. The share price surge signals a critical shift: the street is buying the narrative, for now. This isn't just about quarterly beats; it's a vote of confidence in a multi-year roadmap during a sector-wide capital crunch. Funding this vision, of course, means the balance sheet will be worked harder than a crypto miner's GPU.

A Long Road Ahead

Execution risk remains monumental. Tan’s plan requires flawless operational performance against entrenched rivals. The real test isn't today's pop in the stock—it's delivering silicon that matters, on time and at scale. One cynical fund manager quipped, 'Great story. Let's see if the revenue growth can keep up with the consulting fees.' The turnaround has momentum, but the finish line is still over the horizon.

Stock surges as confidence returns

Intel’s stock jumped 84% in 2025, doing much better than the main semiconductor index’s 42% increase.

The company plans to release its fourth-quarter results after markets close on Thursday.

Major financial backing has strengthened Intel’s position. Nvidia invested $5 billion in the company, while SoftBank put in $2 billion. The U.S. government also took a stake in Intel. These moves have improved Intel’s balance sheet and given Tan room to start changing the company’s manufacturing and AI plans.

Tan has also remade the company’s chipmaking operations and reduced what he described as an overly large management structure.

“It’s the most optimistic, I think, people have felt about the company in a long time; the near-term dynamics are set up very well,” said Ryuta Makino, an analyst at Intel investor Gabelli Funds.

“That’s really the big Intel bull case here – I think there will be at least a double-digit server CPU (central processing unit) price hike in 2026.”

At least 10 brokerages have increased their price targets or ratings for Intel in the past two months, showing higher expectations for the company.

Intel will likely report more than a 30% jump in its data center business to $4.43 billion for the quarter that ended in December, based on data compiled by LSEG.

The increase could come from large technology companies expanding advanced data centers that need Intel’s traditional server chips and CPUs, along with graphics processors made by companies like Nvidia.

Sales in Intel’s personal computer division likely grew 2.5% to $8.21 billion.

PC market challenges persist despite new products

Intel has been steadily losing market share in the PC market to competitor AMD and chip blueprint designer Arm. The company may now also deal with weaker PC demand because a worldwide shortage of memory chips has pushed up memory chip prices and made laptops more costly.

“While we remain bullish on data center demand, we believe PC demand may moderate from increasing memory pricing, given memory accounts for 25% to 30% of PC bill of materials,” UBS analysts said in a note earlier this month.

The brokerage expects a drop of 4% in worldwide 2026 PC shipments, compared with the over 3% growth it predicted earlier.

Intel’s updated product lineup may help reduce some losses.

The company has begun shipping its new “Panther Lake” PC chips – the first product made using Intel’s critical 18A manufacturing technology. Its previous generation of PC chips were mostly made by chip contractor TSMC.

Intel has long been its own biggest manufacturing customer, but with its growing political goodwill, observers are hoping for new foundry clients.

“We really like Lip-Bu Tan, but more importantly, more powerful people like President Trump, Secretary Lutnick, (Nvidia CEO) Jensen Huang, and even (AMD CEO) Lisa Su like him even more as a business partner,” Melius Research analysts said in a note.

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