“Everyone Is Impacted”: Intel Stock (NASDAQ:INTC) Gains on Extent of Chip Shortage

Chip stock Intel INTC +1.39% ▲ is in a good position right now, as pretty much everything it can make has a likely buyer lined up thanks to the ongoing shortage of chips. And Intel’s Dave Guzzi knows as much. The only downside for Intel is that it cannot make more to sell. Intel shares gained modestly in Friday afternoon’s trading as Guzzi revealed the extent of the chip shortage and Intel’s position within it.

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Demand is on the rise, particularly due to the growing number of data centers being built. Throw in standard demand from PC makers, end users, and so on, and the picture grows downright stark. Guzzi noted, “I think that probably across the board, partners are not getting as much product from us as they would like. I think that’s probably universal. [Cloud service providers], OEMs, builders, just across the board.”

While Guzzi looked for central processing unit (CPU) supplies to go up in light of this growing supply crunch, it would not be as rapid or as extensive a rise as has been seen in prices of DRAM and NAND chips. The memory market, Guzzi noted, was significantly different from the processor market, and any changes in CPU pricing would likely be slight by comparison. This is likely cold comfort to everyone looking for new hardware, but cold comfort is better than none.

“Tell Me the Bad News”

Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has an excellent reputation for turning around troubled companies. Certainly, Intel was a troubled company when he first came on back in March 2025. Now, around a year later, Tan is demonstrating his turnaround capacity with Intel’s current operations.

Tan recently appeared at the 2026 SIEPR Economic Summit, and while there, talked about his management style and how it connects to Intel. One key point emerged fairly quickly: “Tell me the bad news.” While some CEOs have been considered the last people you want to tell bad news—lest the teller be blamed personally—Tan is not one of them. Tan has always seen himself as “…an engineer who embraces problem solving.” Problems cannot be solved without first knowing their extent.

Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on seven Buys, 22 Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 88.15% rally in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $47.97 per share implies 4.85% upside potential.

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