JPMorgan: Intel Is 5% Away From Target Price, Risk/Reward Balance Raised to Neutral

via Chaoxiang Research, a JPMorgan research report dated Oct 18, 2026 indicates that Intel (INTC) closed at $89.85 on Oct 16, approximately 5% away from its $85 target price set for December 2027; the stock has retraced roughly 36% from its June peak; in Q2 2026, the Data Center and AI (DCAI) division’s operating profit reached $2.5 billion, surpassing the client computing segment for the first time. The report also notes that annualized revenue from Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) services approaches $2 billion, while external foundry annualized revenue nears $1 billion.

JPMorgan observes that most of the long-term underweight thesis since November 2022 has largely materialized, rendering the current risk-reward profile nearly balanced, prompting an upgrade from Underweight to Neutral. The report sets a $85 target price and projects 2028 earnings per share of $3.60, approximately 15% above market consensus. JPMorgan cautions that constraints regarding foundry scale and 2027 free cash flow remain, and further upside evidence will depend on four key validation points: the data center CPU roadmap, AI compute strategy, external foundry customer adoption, and data center networking enhancements.