AMD and Arm Holdings shares moved higher in after-hours trading on Thursday after Intel reported second-quarter results that significantly exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Intel generated quarterly revenue of $16.13 billion. That was approximately $1.8 billion above analysts’ consensus estimate of $14.33 billion.
Intel Earnings Easily Beat Wall Street Estimates
Intel reported adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, double the consensus forecast of $0.21.
The strong performance represented the company’s fastest rate of revenue growth in nearly 15 years. It also improved investor sentiment across the wider semiconductor sector.
AMD and Arm benefited from the positive reaction because both companies compete in markets linked to data centers, artificial intelligence and server processors.
A stronger-than-expected quarter from Intel may also indicate that overall demand is large enough to support solid results from its rivals.
Intel Stock Surges After Hours
Intel shares ended the regular session at $100.10, down 2.46% for the day.
However, the stock reversed direction after the earnings release. It climbed approximately 9.5% in extended trading to around $109.76.
AMD shares closed at $539.51 before gaining nearly 2.9% after hours to approximately $555.49.
Meanwhile, Arm stock rose about 4.3% from its closing price of $283.04 to around $295.11.
Client Computing Revenue Supports Intel’s Growth
Intel’s Client Computing Group generated $8.9 billion in quarterly revenue, representing a 13% increase from the same period last year.
However, the stronger results were not driven only by the personal computer market.
Demand for server processors continues to exceed supply as data-center operators expand their computing capacity for artificial intelligence applications.
This shortage has added a new source of pressure to the semiconductor supply chain, which had previously focused mainly on limited availability of advanced graphics processors.
Server CPU Prices Rise as Supply Tightens
Intel and AMD are reportedly signing longer-term purchasing agreements with Chinese data-center customers as server processor prices continue to increase.
Prices for some server CPUs in China have climbed by more than 40% since the beginning of 2026. In certain cases, monthly increases have exceeded 10%.
These conditions suggest that customers are attempting to secure processor supplies before prices rise further or lead times become even longer.
The trend could support future revenue for both Intel and AMD.
Intel Says Demand Continues to Outpace Supply
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan previously said customer demand was running ahead of the company’s available supply, particularly for Xeon server processors.
Intel also signed several long-term agreements during the first quarter of 2026. These reportedly included a multi-year supply arrangement with Google.
Lead times for certain Intel products have extended to as much as six months, highlighting the scale of the current demand imbalance.
Strong Q3 Guidance Extends Intel’s Momentum
Intel expects third-quarter revenue to range between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion.
The midpoint of that forecast stands well above Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $15.1 billion.
Should Intel meet the midpoint of its guidance, the company would record its third consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year revenue growth.
That would mark a significant turnaround after years of losing market share to AMD and processors built around Arm-based designs.
Intel Results Lift Semiconductor Sector Sentiment
Intel’s earnings arrived during a difficult period for semiconductor stocks.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had fallen by approximately 20% from its June record before Intel released its results.
The earnings beat may help stabilize the sector by showing that demand for processors remains strong.
However, the durability of the rebound will depend partly on the upcoming earnings reports from AMD and Arm.
AMD Earnings Move Into Focus
AMD is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 results on August 4.
Analysts expect the company to post adjusted earnings of approximately $1.61 per share.
AMD has already increased its forecast for the server processor market. The company now expects the sector to exceed $120 billion by 2030, supported by demand from agentic artificial intelligence workloads.
Intel’s strong report raises expectations for AMD’s data-center business and sets a demanding benchmark for its upcoming earnings release.
Arm Investors Await Quarterly Results
Arm Holdings is expected to release its quarterly results on July 29.
Wall Street forecasts earnings of approximately $0.37 per share. Options-market pricing previously suggested that Arm shares could move by around 11% following the report.
Arm’s after-hours gain reflected stronger confidence across the semiconductor sector.
Nevertheless, its financial performance depends heavily on royalty revenue, licensing agreements and processor adoption. Therefore, its results may not follow Intel’s processor-shipment trends directly.
Chip Demand Remains Strong Ahead of AMD and Arm Earnings
Intel’s earnings beat offered encouraging evidence that demand for server CPUs, data-center infrastructure and AI computing remains elevated.
The results also increased optimism that AMD and Arm could benefit from the same industry trends.
Still, investors will now look closely at AMD’s data-center revenue and Arm’s licensing growth to determine whether the semiconductor rally can continue.
