-- Intel (INTC) reported first-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates as the chipmaker benefited from artificial intelligence-driven demand for its products.
Adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $0.29 per share from $0.13 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.02. Revenue grew 7% to $13.58 billion, compared with the Street's $12.42 billion view.
Intel's shares climbed 16% in after-hours trading. The stock is up 81% so far this year through Thursday close.
"The next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user, moving from foundational models to inference to agentic," Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said in a statement. "This shift is significantly increasing the need for Intel's (central processing units) and wafer and advanced packaging offerings."
RBC Capital Markets expected Intel to deliver a "slight" first-quarter beat amid strength in server CPU demand.
"While demand remains strong, management expected internal wafer supply constraints to be most acute in (the first quarter) which could limit near-term upside," RBC analyst Srini Pajjuri said in a note emailed Tuesday. "Recent media reports point to Intel raising prices which should help."
For the second quarter, Intel expects adjusted EPS of $0.20 on revenue of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion. Analysts are looking for $0.10 and $13.11 billion, respectively.
"We remain focused on maximizing our factory network to improve available supply and meet our customers' needs throughout the year," Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said.
Sales within the client computing segment increased 1% annually to $7.7 billion in the first quarter, while data center and AI climbed 22%. Foundry revenue surged 16% to $5.4 billion.