INTC

Intel stock fell 8.1% on October 22, 2026, as rising oil prices above $112/barrel and concerns about AI infrastructure funding weighed on chip stocks. Meta's report of negative free cash flow and aggressive capex spending raised questions about how companies will finance the AI build-out, threatening sustained demand for Intel's chips.

As agentic AI demand surges with an expected 40% CAGR through 2033, server CPU demand is accelerating. While Intel and AMD have benefited significantly from this trend, Arm Holdings is positioned to dominate the market long-term due to its superior energy efficiency (30-60% better than x86), growing market share (from 5% in 2020 to 20% currently), and expected 90% dominance in custom server CPUs by 2029. Arm's licensing model and new server CPU business targeting agentic AI workloads present significant growth opportunities.

Intel is expected to report Q3 2026 earnings of $0.39 per share (up 69.6% YoY) with revenues of $16.44 billion (up 20.4% YoY) on October 29. The company has a positive Earnings ESP of +2.22% combined with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), suggesting a likely earnings beat. Intel has beaten consensus estimates in all four of the last quarters, with the most recent quarter delivering a 100% surprise.