INTC Stock Still A Buy After 230% Rally This Year? Jim Cramer Sees More Upside Ahead For Intel

• Jim Cramer said Intel remains his “new favorite stock,” even after a sharp year-to-date rally, according to CNBC.
• He pointed to rising demand for CPUs fueled by AI infrastructure and agentic systems.
• Intel’s emerging foundry business could reportedly benefit as global chip demand pushes customers toward alternative suppliers.

Jim Cramer reportedly said on Wednesday that Intel Corp (INTC) still has room to run, even after the semiconductor giant’s stock has gained nearly 240% this year.

At the time of writing, INTC stock was up 2.34% in after-hours trading after ending the regular session with a gain of 3.46%. 

INTC Is Jim Cramer’s Top Pick

Intel remains Jim Cramer’s top pick in the current market, the “Mad Money” host said, according to CNBC.

“Which stock do you want to buy? I told Club members the answer is my new favorite stock in this market: Intel,” Cramer said, referring to the CNBC Investing Club’s Monthly Meeting for June, held Wednesday.

Under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel’s stock has staged a remarkable turnaround. It was in the low $20s a share in August 2025, when the U.S. government announced a 10% stake in the company, according to the CNBC report. Around a month later, chip industry rival Nvidia (NVDA) invested $5 billion in Intel. Shares now trade around $123 and are up 236% year-to-date.

Cramer said that, ordinarily, a move of that magnitude would be enough to keep him on the sidelines. But he believes Intel’s prospects are being transformed by the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, stated the report. 

INTC Still Has Upside, Says Cramer

Cramer said investors should focus on where tech hardware stocks are headed rather than past gains, adding that data center-linked names like Intel still have further upside.

“I don’t want to throw away the discipline of not touching a stock that’s rallied like crazy, but when it comes to tech hardware that’s connected to the data center, I think you may not have a choice,” he said, reported CNBC.

“You can’t afford to care about where these stocks have been. You should only care about where they’re going. When it comes to Intel, I think the answer is up.” 

INTC To Benefit From AI Chip Shortage, Says Cramer

Cramer’s optimism centers on Intel’s role in the AI buildout. He said the rise of inference and agentic AI could increase demand for central processing units, Intel’s bread-and-butter product.

“There’s a revolution going on and this revolution requires as many CPUs as possible,” Cramer said, contending that CPUs may experience a severe shortage that gives chipmakers immense pricing power and boosts profits.

Cramer also pointed to Intel’s nascent foundry business, which manufactures chips for third-party customers. With AI spending surging and leading foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company operating near capacity, Cramer said more chip designers will seek alternative suppliers, particularly those who want U.S.-based manufacturing. 

INTC Stock: What Retail Traders Feel

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for INTC was ‘neutral,’ with message volume being ‘normal.’

Over the past 7 days, message volume around the INTC stock has increased by 48%, while its retail watcher base rose by 0.2% in the same period, and 0.9% in the last 30 days.

According to Koyfin data, out of 48 analysts covering INTC, 13 rate the stock a ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’, while 31 rate it a ‘Hold’. Meanwhile, two analysts rate it a ‘Sell’ and another two assign a ‘Strong Sell’. 

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