Intel's recovery momentum is strong, with investors betting on growth in the contract manufacturing business.

Intel's astonishing surge earlier this year indicates that investors are increasingly optimistic about the prospects of the chip manufacturer acquiring new chip customers, allowing the company to return to the artificial intelligence race that it seems to have abandoned in 2024. The stock has risen by 31% at the beginning of 2026, making it the third best-performing component stock in the S&P 500 index. Following an 84% surge in 2025, the stock price has reached near its two-year high, successfully recovering from a 60% decline in 2024. Kim Forrest, chief investment officer of Bokeh Capital Partners and a long-term holder of Intel shares, said, "Intel has risen from the dead, and the process of holding the stock was once painful, but now it feels great."