Intel shares jumped by approximately 11% in the session leading up to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release, marking the stock’s strongest one-day gain since early 2022. Volume spiked to nearly twice the daily average, reflecting broad investor optimism around expected revenue contributions from its data-center and AI-focused processors. The rally pushed Intel to its highest closing level in four years and outpaced gains in the broader semiconductor sector.

Industry reports indicate that Apple is evaluating Intel’s 18A manufacturing process for its entry-level M-series chips, with potential orders of 15 to 20 million units per year, according to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Further, whispers that Apple may explore Intel’s future 14A node for iPhone processors have fueled speculation that Intel’s foundry business could secure its first marquee client. Such a shift would represent a dramatic realignment of capacity as TSMC prioritizes surging demand for Nvidia’s AI GPUs over legacy smartphone chips.

Regulated platforms such as Kalshi show traders assigning high odds that Intel executives will reference tariffs, Nvidia partnerships, and product lines like Xeon and Panther Lake during the upcoming earnings call. Conversely, the probability of explicit mentions of Apple or political figures has plummeted, suggesting management plans to steer the narrative toward supply-chain resilience and AI-related demand rather than customer names or election-year politics.

Over the past month, at least seven brokerages have lifted Intel’s price objectives, citing accelerating hyperscaler orders and capacity constraints at rivals. KeyBanc upgraded its outlook to bullish, projecting server-CPU sales growth of more than 30% in 2026, while HSBC and Wedbush highlighted better-than-expected traction for Intel’s Panther Lake chips built on its 18A node. Consensus estimates now forecast December-quarter data-center revenue of nearly $4.4 billion, up almost 29% year-over-year, setting a high bar for Thursday’s results.