New York, July 7, 2026, 06:35 (EDT)
- Intel Corporation NASDAQ:INTC dropped 4.69% in premarket trading after gaining 1.54% on Monday.
- Q2 EPS estimate is now at 21 cents, up from 8 cents, well above the revision rate for tech.
- The average analyst price target is under where shares finished Monday, so there’s not much cushion if July 23 earnings come in light.
- Nasdaq’s 2026 schedule shows the market will close for Independence Day on July 3. Trading resumes July 7 with premarket hours, regular session starts at 9:30 a.m.
Intel Corporation NASDAQ:INTC shares traded lower in premarket Tuesday. Wall Street analysts have raised their earnings targets for the chipmaker going into its July 23 report.
The stock dropped 4.69% to $116.47 before the bell at 5:44 a.m. EDT. It finished Monday at $122.20, gaining 1.54%. Premarket volume was 1.03 million shares. Over the past year, shares traded between $18.97 and $142.35.
The drop isn’t just about today. Intel’s Q2 EPS estimate is now 21 cents, up from 8 cents at March’s end, a 162.5% move. FactSet says the information-technology sector’s Q2 bottom-up EPS estimate rose 8.7% in that stretch. That puts Intel at the top for estimate hikes among big tech names. But shares are trading like these numbers are priced in.
That matters for Intel, which now faces a tougher hurdle. The company is guiding for Q2 non-GAAP EPS of 20 cents, just under the Street’s 21-cent view. Revenue is expected between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. Results come out after the bell July 23.
WSJ consensus trend data now shows the following estimates:
| Intel forecast measure | Three months ago | Current | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 EPS | $0.08 | $0.21 | +162.5% |
| Q3 2026 EPS | $0.18 | $0.26 | +44.4% |
| FY 2026 EPS | $0.51 | $1.08 | +111.8% |
| FY 2027 EPS | $0.97 | $1.57 | +61.9% |
The target map tells a different story. Barron’s data lists 14 buys, 5 overweights, 31 holds, 1 underweight, and 3 sells. The average price target sits at $107.40, which is under Monday’s close of $122.20.
| Intel price target estimates | Value | Change from Monday close |
|---|---|---|
| Top target | $200.00 | +63.7% |
| Mean target | $107.40 | -12.1% |
| Lowest target | $45.00 | -63.2% |
Chip shares dropped in premarket trading. Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.9% as of 04:56 a.m. ET, Reuters said, with Intel down 4%. Micron Technology NASDAQ:MU slipped 5.6%, Western Digital NASDAQ:WDC lost 6.2%, and Sandisk NASDAQ:SNDK dropped 5.2%. Samsung Electronics KRX:005930 was lower in Seoul trading despite reporting a 19-times surge in Q2 operating profit.
Richard Hunter, who heads markets at interactive investor, said the real question is “whether the level of earnings can be maintained” after all the heavy AI investment. Reuters
Morgan Stanley said Monday that the recent drop in U.S. semiconductor shares could mean investors are shifting to AI hyperscalers. The bank said the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 11% in June but has dropped more than 11% in the past two weeks.
Intel’s Q1 numbers gave bulls something to point to. Revenue was up 7% to $13.6 billion. Data Center and AI revenue gained 22%. Intel Foundry came in 16% higher. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said “the next wave of AI” will push intelligence closer to users and lift demand for Intel CPUs, wafer supply, and packaging. Intel Corporation
Intel got a lift as the broader market moved higher Monday. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.12% to close at 26,121.16, the S&P 500 gained 0.72%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.29% to 53,055.91.
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