Jim Cramer dubs Intel a ‘miracle stock’ ahead of earnings

Famed investor Jim Cramer has declared Intel INTC a “miracle stock” ahead of the giant’s fiscal Q2 earnings set to be released today (July 23rd) after market close.

In a recent segment of CNBC, the former hedge fund manager also reiterated that INTC remains his favourite pick in the chip sector.

Consensus is for the semiconductor firm to report earnings of $0.22 per share on US$14.4 billion (approx. $20.1 billion) in revenue, representing about a 12% year-over-year increase.

Heading into the earnings print, Intel shares are up some 150% versus the start of this year (2026).

Why Cramer is bullish on Intel stock ahead of earnings

This week on “Squawk on the Street”, Cramer praised chief executive Lip-Bu Tan for orchestrating a rapid operational turnaround at Intel, noting industry leaders – including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang – regard him as the best in the business.

The Mad Money host attributed his optimism primarily to Intel Foundry, which has hit several major milestones in 2026, including a manufacturing deal with Fortinet, a high-profile chip partnership with Apple, and commitments from billionaire Elon Musk’s “Terafab” project.

INTC has also become the first semiconductor manufacturer in the world to deploy ASML’s High-NA EUV (0.55 NA) scanner into active high-volume production for key layers on its Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) processor line.

What could drive INTC shares higher in the near-term

Addressing recent speculation regarding SK Hynix and Intel’s New Albany, Ohio campus, Cramer emphasized that domestic manufacturing capacity remains essential to meet global AI demand.

While previous management viewed scaling the Ohio site as overly aggressive, the famed investor noted that if Tan signals full-steam development in Ohio alongside the Arizona buildout, Intel stock stands to move up significantly.

According to him, Lip-Bu Tan’s standing across Silicon Valley gives investors immense confidence – reiterating that what he “has done at Intel is nothing short of a miracle”.

That said, INTC is currently trading at 154x forward earnings, which makes it an expensive name to own by any stretch of the imagination.

Where options pricing suggests Intel is headed

Despite valuation concerns, the derivatives market remains positive about what the future holds for INTC shares.

At the time of writing, the put-to-call ratio on options contracts expiring on July 24th sits at 0.66 – indicating a strong bullish skew.

And the upper price on those contracts is set at nearly $114 currently, signaling potential for a more than 10% rally through the end of this week.

Interestingly, the semiconductor stock’s 20-day moving average (MA) is currently hovering right around the $114 level.

What it means is: if upcoming earnings help it decisively break above $114, the upward momentum could actually sustain or even extend further in the near-term.