Intel (INTC) shares inched higher on Wednesday as investors weighed fresh progress at the firm’s Ohio manufacturing campus. The semiconductor giant announced that crews installed the first major structural truss at its initial New Albany factory, offering tangible evidence that the delayed project continues to advance.
Intel stock has been nothing short of a lucrative investment in 2026, currently trading at about 3x its price at the start of this year.
The installation advances construction of Ohio One, where INTC plans to invest over $28 billion in two advanced semiconductor factories.
Manufacturing executive Naga Chandrasekaran presented the development as progress toward expanding America’s leading-edge chip capacity. Intel’s published schedule calls for completing the first factory in 2030, with operations beginning in 2030 or 2031.
For INTC stock, the milestone offers reassurance that Ohio remains part of the firm’s manufacturing strategy.
Its immediate significance for earnings is limited, though. Installing structural infrastructure does not establish customer commitment or generate chip sales. The investment case ultimately depends on securing sufficient demand to justify the campus’s substantial construction and operating costs.
Caution is warranted in playing Intel shares ahead of the giant’s fiscal Q3 earnings on Oct. 29 because it’s trading at a rather stretched 88x forward earnings as of writing. Consensus is for INTC to more than double its earnings per share (EPS) on a year-over-year basis to $0.28 in the third financial quarter.
Still, valuation concerns and softer PC sales made Susquehanna maintain Intel at “Neutral” and cut its price target to $105 earlier this week.
That said, insiders including CEO Lip-Bu Tan have loaded up in INTC in recent months, signaling executives still find it undervalued relative to historical levels in late 2026.
Wall Street analysts more broadly remain constructive on Intel Corp heading into 2027.
According to Barchart, the consensus rating on the semiconductor behemoth sits at “Moderate Buy,” with price targets as high as $200 indicating potential upside of more than 100% from here.