Intel will report its second-quarter 2026 earnings on Thursday, July 23, with a conference call scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PDT. The report comes just weeks after the company's Foundry business announced an industry first: high-volume manufacturing using High-NA EUV lithography for parts of the Core Ultra Series 3, code-named Panther Lake. That milestone puts a spotlight on how quickly Intel can turn new chipmaking technology into profitable production.
High-NA EUV: A First in High-Volume Manufacturing
Intel Foundry said it has begun high-volume production using High-NA EUV tools for select layers of the Panther Lake processors. The achievement is significant because High-NA EUV — a next-generation lithography system from ASML — was long seen as a technology for future nodes, not current ones. ASML itself lifted its 2026 sales outlook to between €43 billion and €45 billion, citing strong demand that signals tight supply of these advanced machines.
The move also comes with a new leadership structure. Seok-Hee Lee was appointed executive vice president of Intel Foundry, tasked with accelerating advanced packaging and back-end manufacturing. That role is critical as Intel tries to package chips from multiple customers — not just its own — into complex, high-performance modules.
Investor Concerns: Losses, Margins, and Milestones
For all the technical progress, the earnings call is likely to be dominated by financial questions. Key investor concerns include how quickly Foundry operating losses are narrowing, what guardrails Intel is setting for gross margins, and how much external revenue the foundry is actually generating. Capital expenditure and depreciation timing also weigh on the balance sheet, along with working capital and free cash flow.
Foundry losses depend heavily on yields, utilization rates, and cost absorption. High-NA EUV brings its own challenges: a steep learning curve and a surge in depreciation as the expensive tools come online. Management may try to steer the conversation toward 'milestones' — technical achievements like the Panther Lake ramp — to avoid discussing absolute dollar losses or the precise cadence of capital spending. Investors will have to press for specifics.
What to Watch on the Earnings Call
Analysts and shareholders should listen for concrete operational metrics. Scrap rates, tool uptime, and rework percentages will indicate how smoothly the High-NA EUV transition is going. Cycle-time reductions show whether Intel is improving manufacturing speed. External wafer starts — chips made for outside customers — are the clearest sign of foundry traction. Minimum volume commitments and pricing details would reveal whether customers are locking in long-term deals.
The July 23 call will be the first chance to hear from Seok-Hee Lee since his appointment, and the first full earnings report since the High-NA EUV announcement. Intel's ability to turn a technical first into a financial turnaround remains the open question.
