NEW YORK, March 12, 2026, 09:40 EDT
- Intel climbed roughly 2.5% to $47.98 early Thursday in the U.S., with AMD and Nvidia edging up less than 1%.
- Intel launches its Core Ultra 200S Plus desktop chips on March 26, with prices kicking off at $199.
- Intel’s AI-server CPU supply constraints remain top of mind for investors, with questions swirling about if its 18A process will manage to attract external clients.
Intel jumped roughly 2.5% in early U.S. action Thursday, following its announcement of new Core Ultra desktop chips—another shot in the arm for its ongoing turnaround effort. Shares traded at $47.98, outpacing Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia, both up less than 1%.
This comes as Intel aims to prove that new PC chips remain a viable growth engine, even as big efforts in AI servers and contract chipmaking are slow to deliver results. The urgency ticked up in January. Intel reported it couldn’t satisfy all the demand for server chips that complement Nvidia’s AI processors, and its first-quarter sales and profit outlook fell short of what Wall Street wanted.
Intel on Wednesday pegged March 26 as the launch date for its Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus desktop chips, setting suggested starting prices at $299 and $199, respectively. These new processors bring extra cores, support for faster memory, and a software layer aimed at boosting certain game performance—no code rewrites needed for developers.
“The fastest desktop gaming processors Intel has ever built,” is how Robert Hallock, vice president in Intel’s client computing group, described the new lineup. The company noted that the chips remain compatible with existing 800-series motherboards—a detail that could help current users cut upgrade costs. Newsroom
Intel’s desktop push marks another step in its campaign to claw back PC ground from AMD, while demonstrating that its 18A chip process is prepped for large-scale output. Back at CES in January, CEO Lip-Bu Tan pointed to the company’s promise to deliver the first 18A products in 2025—and rolled out the Panther Lake laptop chips to back that up. That came after earlier Lunar Lake models were mostly produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Finance chief David Zinsner hinted last week that Intel’s ambitions could be stretching further. During a Morgan Stanley conference, he described the 18A process as “a good node to offer to external customers as well,” a clear signal that Intel is once again aiming to court other chip designers with its manufacturing tech. Reuters
Board shakeups are fueling the impression that Tan’s overhaul at the company is gaining momentum. After Intel announced this month that Chair Frank Yeary would step down, Seaport Securities analyst Jay Goldberg commented, “professionalizing the board will help that a lot,” referring to Tan’s push to shift Intel’s culture and boost execution. Reuters
Even the slightest hint of improvement has sent investors bidding up Intel shares. Back in January, Reuters noted that Intel stock was already up 84% for 2025—outpacing the semiconductor index—as expectations built around Tan’s shakeup and rising data-center demand. “The near-term dynamic’s set up very well” for Intel, Gabelli Funds analyst Ryuta Makino said at the time. Reuters
The recovery remains shaky. Back in January, Intel admitted it misjudged demand for server CPUs—these work alongside Nvidia’s graphics chips in AI setups. For the first quarter, Intel projected revenue in the $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion range, trailing what analysts had expected. Margins faced more pressure, too, as low yields—meaning fewer good chips per silicon wafer—kept costs tight.
Michael Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital, put it bluntly: Intel’s problem, he said, was still “supply-constrained rather than demand-constrained.” UBS analysts flagged the risk that pricier memory could drag on PC demand in 2026—even if Intel updates its lineup. All this while, according to Reuters, Intel keeps ceding PC market share to AMD. Reuters
Intel shares got a boost Thursday, but the main issue remains: can the company’s latest PC releases, tighter management, and a revamped factory push actually translate into lasting earnings momentum after this surge?
