SANTA CLARA: Intel has strengthened its turnaround prospects after forecasting third quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations and increasing its 2026 capital expenditure plan to USD 20 billion from USD 18 billion, reflecting growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

The upbeat outlook pushed the company’s shares up about 6 percent in premarket trading. Intel said demand for its data center processors is rising as businesses invest in AI computing, while the company also expects continued growth in its chip manufacturing business backed by increasing domestic semiconductor production.

Despite the improved outlook, NVIDIA remains the dominant player in the AI accelerator chip market, though Intel is seeking to expand its share of the rapidly growing AI infrastructure market under its ongoing turnaround strategy.