Lip-Bu Tan-led Intel is planning to raise USD 15 billion through a share sale, with the aim of funding the costly build-out of its chip contract manufacturing business by cashing in on the stock surge fueled by its turnaround efforts.
Once a dominant force in the global chip industry, Intel, under Tan’s leadership, has staged a spectacular turnaround by investing heavily in new facilities and advanced packaging capabilities.
It is now looking to challenge industry leaders such as TSMC in contract chip manufacturing.
While Intel’s shares fell more than 3% in premarket trading on August 10, likely on concerns about shareholder dilution from the stock sale, the company has outperformed its rivals (more than 170% for the year) in stock markets so far in 2026.
Intel plans to give underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to USD 2.25 billion worth of additional shares at the offer price, minus discounts.
JPMorgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets are acting as joint book-running managers.
The shift towards AI agents has powered demand for central processing units, with Intel executives saying that orders have outrun the company’s manufacturing capacity.
In response to this booming demand, the chipmaker has raised its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 from USD 18 billion to USD 20 billion in July.
Apart from raising the capital expenditure forecast, Intel has also committed to high-volume production of chips using its 14A manufacturing process in 2028, after previously warning the technology could be shelved without a major external customer.
Intel’s foundry division has already secured massive order for its advanced 14A (1.4 nm-class) semiconductor manufacturing technology node from Elon Musk-led Tesla.
The electric vehicle maker is planning to use the node for its Terafab AI chip and robotics initiatives. On the other hand, United States President Donald Trump recently announced about Apple potentially making processors with Intel, though neither company has confirmed the news.
Intel expects third-quarter revenue between USD 15.8 billion and USD 16.8 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of USD 15.1 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Adjusted profit is expected to be 38 cents per share, compared with analyst estimates of 27 cents.
Intel will now be focusing on cashing the boom “Agentic AI” boom, in which autonomous agents will carry out tasks such as computer coding on behalf of human users.
As per the analysts, investors will also be closely watching Intel’s data centre and contract manufacturing, or foundry, businesses as key indicators of the turnaround’s success.
Hailing the Q2 results, Tan said the upbeat financials have now prompted Intel to become “fully committed” to high-volume production of chips made with its forthcoming 14A manufacturing technology in 2028.
In 2025, Intel came close to abandoning its 14A project, due to lack of customers, almost putting the United States out of the race to make the world’s fastest chips.
“I’m pleased to see the increasing momentum on customer engagements for Intel 14A, and I’m increasingly confident that the 14A will be a highly competitive process,” Tan said.
For the second quarter ended June 27, Intel’s sales rose 25.4% to USD 16.13 billion and adjusted profit stood at 42 cents per share, compared with estimates of USD 14.42 billion and 21 cents per share. Adjusted gross margin came in at 41.8%, versus estimates of 38.8%.