Zacks Research Offers Positive Outlook on Intel's Q1 Earnings

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC - Free Report) has recently benefited from a more optimistic forecast by Zacks Research regarding its Q1 2026 earnings. In a research note published on January 6th, Zacks increased their earnings estimates for Intel, now predicting earnings of $0.14 per share for the quarter, a notable increase from their previous estimate of $0.12. The consensus estimate for Intel's earnings for the current year stands at a loss of ($0.87) per share.

Additionally, Zacks Research has provided further estimates for Intel's upcoming earnings, forecasting $0.28 EPS for Q3 2026, $0.37 EPS for Q4 2026, and an annual earnings estimate of $0.94 EPS for FY2026. This adjusted outlook reflects a growing confidence in Intel's financial recovery.

Intel's most recent quarterly earnings report, released on October 31st, showed the company reporting a loss of ($0.46) EPS, falling significantly short of analysts' expectations, which predicted a loss of ($0.02) EPS. Despite this setback, Intel's revenue for the quarter reached $13.30 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $13.02 billion. However, insiders noted a decline in revenue of 6.3% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, where Intel had reported an earnings per share of $0.28.

Analyst Ratings and Target Prices

Analysts have varied opinions regarding Intel's future stock performance. For instance, Rosenblatt Securities continues to recommend selling Intel shares with a target price of $17.00. Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus has maintained a hold rating but decreased their target price from $28.00 to $25.00. Mizuho recently raised its price target from $22.00 to $23.00 while assigning a neutral rating. Additionally, Truist Financial increased their price target from $25.00 to $26.00 with a hold recommendation.

The Goldman Sachs Group has also revised its stance, lowering its price target on Intel shares from $22.00 to $21.00 and maintaining a sell rating for the company. As per MarketBeat, a mix of opinions sees six analysts giving a sell recommendation, twenty-five issuing hold ratings, and only one considering the stock a buy. Overall, Intel currently holds an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, along with an average price target set at $30.04.

Current Stock Performance

As of the latest trading session, Intel shares opened at $19.88. The company has experienced a 52-week low of $18.51 and a high of $50.30. Its stock features a 50-day moving average of $22.15 and a 200-day moving average of $23.86. Intel boasts a market capitalization of $85.74 billion, but it also faces challenges with a PE ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 1.07. Additionally, the firm's debt-to-equity ratio is relatively low at 0.44, with a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several institutional investors have made adjustments to their positions in Intel recently. InvesTrust, for example, acquired new shares of Intel worth approximately $3.7 million in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Diversified Trust Co has increased its holdings by 1.8% during the same period, now owning 83,791 shares valued at $1.68 million after an additional purchase of 1,445 shares. Other investment firms like Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. and Nordea Investment Management AB have also made similar increases to their positions.

Currently, institutional investors command a significant portion of Intel's stock, holding around 64.53% of the total shares available.

Insider Trading

In recent developments concerning insider activity, EVP Michelle Johnston Holthaus sold 25,000 shares of Intel stock on November 7th for an average price of $26.00, totaling $650,000. Post-sale, she holds approximately 273,258 shares, valued around $7.1 million, marking an 8.38% reduction in her ownership of the stock. This transaction was documented in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

About Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is a leading global technology company engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling computing and related products and services. The company's operations are organized into various segments, including Client Computing Group, Data Center and AI, Network and Edge, Mobileye, and Intel Foundry Services. Its extensive product offering features central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), memory, and various semiconductor products.

Intel, Earnings, Analysis