Intel beats on Q3 earnings, revenue

Intel, the struggling American computer chip giant that was partially nationalized by the US government in August, reported Q3 sales and profit numbers after the close of trading on Wednesday.

• Intel Q3 revenue came in at $13.7 billion vs. the $13.17 billion FactSet consensus expectation.

• Adjusted earnings per share were $0.23 vs. the $0.02 consensus estimate from FactSet.

• Intel gave Q4 2025 sales guidance of between $12.8 billion and $13.8 billion ($13.3 midpoint) vs. a consensus expectation of $13.42 billion.

Shares jumped after-hours, rising 5.9% in recent trading after the numbers were released.

The earnings report could add to market momentum since the US took a 10% stake in the company in August. That announcement was soon followed by an unusual announcement from chip giant Nvidia that it would invest $5 billion in Intel and partner with the company.

“We took meaningful steps this quarter to strengthen our balance sheet, including accelerated funding from the U.S. government, and investments by Nvidia and SoftBank Group that increase our operational flexibility and demonstrate the critical role we play in the ecosystem,” David Zinsner, Intel’s CFO, said in a prepared statement.

The stock, which had been largely flat for the year through the end of July, was up roughly 90% between July 31 and the end of trading on Thursday, in part, some argue, because of the market impact of the US government and Nvidia taking stakes in the company rather than rosy prospects for the company.

“The real bull case for now seems to be ‘Trump wants the stock to go up’ which we are hesitant to argue with despite our view that fundamentals would support a more negative view,” wrote Stacy A. Rasgon, who covers Intel for Bernstein Research. Rasgon rates Intel as “market perform” — essentially “hold” — with a price target of $21, which is about 45% below the market price on Thursday.