Intel Drives AI and Foundry Initiatives Despite Major Losses

Intel Corp. reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $13.6 billion (approximately ₩20 trillion), a 7 percent increase year-over-year. However, after recognizing roughly $4.1 billion (about ₩6 trillion) in charges—including goodwill impairment related to Mobileye and other restructuring costs—the company recorded a net loss of $3.7 billion (around ₩5 trillion). On a non-GAAP basis, Intel earned $1.5 billion in net income and $0.29 per share, driven by growth in its data-center & AI and foundry segments, the launch of new AI and CPU products, and expanded partnerships with Google, Nvidia and SambaNova.

For the second quarter, Intel guided revenue of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion (roughly ₩20–22 trillion) and projected a return to profitability. In a same-day regulatory filing, the company also noted that its head of foundry operations and a board director reported routine conversions of shares vested under their restricted-stock units.

Shares jumped recently after reports that Apple reached a preliminary agreement with Intel to manufacture certain in-house chips, a development that also lifted the U.S. government’s 10 percent stake in Intel to an estimated $55 billion (about ₩80 trillion). Meanwhile, U.S. regulators approved Intel’s additional investment in AI-chip startup SambaNova, accelerating their collaboration on data-center and generative-AI chips and systems.

Underpinned by U.S. government subsidies and equity support, Intel is expanding beyond its traditional PC-CPU business into data-center processors, AI accelerators and foundry services, competing in cutting-edge manufacturing with TSMC and Samsung Electronics. As demand for AI compute grows and supply chains are reshaped, the industry is closely watching Intel’s process yields and order flow from major customers.