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Valued at $173.1 billion by market cap, Intel Corporation (INTC) is a leading global semiconductor company and a pioneer of the modern computing era. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Intel designs and manufactures advanced chips and platforms that power a wide range of technology from personal computers and data centers to networking infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and edge computing. Intel has been a clear standout in the semiconductor space, delivering a significantly stronger performance than the broader market. INTC has soared 81.2% over this time frame, well ahead of the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX), which has rallied nearly 18.3%. In 2025, INTC’s stock popped 107.1% compared to the SPX’s 6.1% rise on a YTD basis. Intel’s strength is also notable against industry peers. The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) has gained about 42% over the past year and 41% on a YTD, trailing INTC’s impressive gains over the same time frames. On Oct. 23, Intel shares popped 3.4% after the company delivered solid Q3 results. Its revenue rose 3% year over year to $13.7 billion, topping expectations and marking its fourth straight quarter of beating guidance. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.23, also surpassing the Street estimate, thanks to CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s aggressive cost-cutting efforts. It posted an adjusted free cash flow of $896 million, compared to $2.7 billion in the year-ago quarter. For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect INTC’s loss per share to narrow 78.8% to $0.18 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing the forecast on one occasion. Among the 41 analysts covering INTC stock, the consensus is a “Hold.” That’s based on two “Strong Buy” ratings, 33 “Holds,” one “Moderate Sell,” and five “Strong Sells.” The configuration is more bullish than two months ago, when the stock had one “Strong Buy” suggestion. On Oct. 27, Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley reiterated an “Equal-Weight” rating on Intel and raised the price target to $35 from $25. While the stock currently trades above its mean price target of $35.33, the Street-high price target of $50 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 20.4%.
