Intel Q2 revenue posts its fastest growth in 15 years, driven by AI-fueled CPU demand recovery—Samsung Bloomberg Global Semiconductors ETF (3132 HK) offers one-click exposure to the global semiconductor value chain

After U.S. market hours on July 23, $Intel (INTC.US)$ released its Q2 2026 earnings report, delivering results far exceeding market expectations. Q2 revenue reached $16.13 billion, a 25% year-over-year increase—the fastest quarterly revenue growth since Q3 2011. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.42, double the market expectation of $0.21. Gross margin surged to 42% from 2.5% a year ago, reflecting improved profitability driven by revenue scale expansion, better product pricing, and higher yields.

Agentic AI sparks CPU demand surge, with data center business becoming the key growth driver

The key highlight of this earnings report is that the shift in AI industry focus is bringing Intel's CPUs back to center stage. As the industry moves from training large models to large-scale deployment of 'Agentic AI'—AI agents capable of autonomously executing tasks—demand for general-purpose CPUs has seen significant growth. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated plainly: 'In data centers, CPUs are taking off,' with demand consistently outpacing the company’s ever-increasing supply capacity.

The Data Center and AI (DCAI) business segment reported Q2 revenue of $6.3 billion, a 59% year-over-year increase—the strongest quarterly growth ever recorded for its server business. The Xeon 6 processor family has become one of the fastest-shipping products in the company’s history. AI-driven businesses overall grew by over 70% year-over-year, contributing nearly 70% of total revenue.

Capital expenditures significantly increased, with long-term agreements locking in future revenue

Faced with rapidly growing AI computing demand, $Intel (INTC.US)$ the company is expanding capacity at an unprecedented pace. Management raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure forecast from $18 billion to over $20 billion and expects 2027 capital spending to be substantially higher than 2026 levels, with the vast majority allocated to its U.S.-based manufacturing network. From 2021 through 2026, Intel’s total capital expenditures on tools and factory space in the U.S. will approach $100 billion.

Even more noteworthy, Intel has signed multiple three- to five-year long-term agreements with customers for data center CPUs and XPUs, with some contracts locking in both volume and pricing, thereby enhancing the predictability of future revenue.

3132 HK: One-click access to global semiconductor leaders

Intel’s strong recovery further reflects that the semiconductor industry is in an AI-driven structural growth cycle. However, stock-specific volatility cannot be ignored—since hitting a record closing high on June 22, Intel’s share price has retraced more than 25%, impacted by broad-based selling across the chip sector.

$Samsung Bloomberg Global Semiconductor ETF (03132.HK)$ It tracks the world’s top 20 semiconductor leaders, comprehensively covering multiple key segments of the AI computing value chain. Whether it’s the CPU computing recovery ( $Intel (INTC.US)$ ), GPUs and AI chips ( $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ 、 $Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$ ), high-bandwidth memory (HBM) ( $Samsung Electronics (005930.KR)$ 、 $SK hynix (SKHY.US)$ 、 $Micron Technology (MU.US)$ ), advanced process foundry services ( $Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ ), and semiconductor equipment essential for capacity expansion ( $ASML Holding (ASML.US)$ 、 $Applied Materials (AMAT.US)$ 、 $Lam Research (LRCX.US)$ ）—— $Samsung Bloomberg Global Semiconductor ETF (03132.HK)$ are all covered.

Intel's strongest revenue growth in fifteen years once again reflects the underlying growth trend in AI computing demand. Through the global and diversified exposure offered by 3132 HK, investors can systematically participate in this AI-driven semiconductor cycle opportunity while mitigating volatility risks associated with any single market or individual stock.

Data and source: Bloomberg (July 24, 2026)

Samsung Asset Management (Hong Kong), as of July 24, 2026

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