INTC Stock Ticks Up Ahead Of Earnings: Ohio Fab Buzz Grows As Intel Reportedly Seeks New Partner

Investors were positioning their trades ahead of Intel’s second-quarter earnings report, due after the market closes on Thursday.

• Semfor reported on Wednesday that Intel is looking for a partner to help it run its upcoming Ohio fab project, and is considering SK Hynix among others.
• Intel’s massive Ohio fab campus is scheduled to go live in 2030.
• Stocktwits sentiment for INTC dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ early Thursday.

Intel shares rose 0.8% in overnight trading ahead of Thursday amid broad gains in the semiconductor space following Alphabet, Inc.’s strong quarterly results, in which the Google parent also raised its full-year capital expenditure target. Now, there is more buzz surrounding one of Intel’s key factories.

Intel will report second-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday, with investors closely watching for catalysts that could extend the chipmaker’s remarkable rally this year.

Semfor reported on Wednesday that the government-backed chipmaker is looking for a partner to help it run its upcoming Ohio fab project. According to people familiar with the matter, South Korean memory giant SK Hynix is among those being considered to work with Intel in the state.

Fresh Activity In Intel’s Ohio Fab Project?

The report suggested that Intel is considering a partnership, rather than selling the Ohio operations as was reported by a Korean news outlet previously. Even as SK Hynix has denied involvement in any such talks, the reports point to some activity in one of Intel's most crucial projects.

Intel announced its Ohio One semiconductor manufacturing campus in January 2022, and said it would invest $28 billion initially to build two leading-edge chip fabrication plants in New Albany, near Columbus.

The nearly 1,000-acre site broke ground in September 2022 and has been under construction since, but the project has faced multiple delays amid weaker chip demand and Intel’s cost-cutting efforts. Under the latest timeline, the first fab is expected to be completed in 2030 and begin operations between 2030 and 2031.

To be sure, Intel has been striking deals with rivals and customers alike since the U.S. government took a strategic stake in the company last year, even as the Donald Trump administration pushes to bring more chipmaking operations onshore from Asia.

INTC, AMD Sign New Deals

In a separate report in Reuters, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are reportedly signing longer-term purchase commitments with Chinese server customers ‌for data-centre processors as prices surge.

The development signals that more customers are turning to CPUs instead of GPUs for AI workloads and are locking in orders before prices rise further due to a memory chip crunch.

Intel Q2 Results: What’s In Store?

Analysts expect the government-backed chipmaker’s second-quarter revenue to rise 12% to $14.45 billion and adjusted income of $0.22 per share compared to a loss of $0.10 per share last year, according to data from Koyfin.

Currently, 13 out of 47 analysts rate the stock ‘Buy’ or higher, 31 rate it ‘Hold,’ and three rate it ‘Sell’ or lower, per Koyfin. Their average price target of $108.63 implies a mere 6% rise from the stock’s last close. Intel stock has risen 178% year to date.

INTC Stock: What Do Retail Traders Feel?

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for INTC dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ the previous day, while the 24-hour message volume rose 11%.

"Alphabet’s earnings are fundamentally good for Intel because Google raised its 2026 capital-spending forecast… showing that AI data-center construction and cloud demand remain very strong,” a trader wrote. “Today confirm it will go up,” they said, referring to the INTC stock.

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