Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan [EPA=Yonhap News File Photo]

Shares of Intel surged after the U.S. semiconductor giant reported an "earnings surprise," significantly exceeding market expectations.

On the 23rd (local time), Intel announced that its second-quarter revenue reached $16.1 billion (approximately 23.8 trillion KRW), a 25% increase compared to the same period last year.

This figure exceeded the market consensus of $14.42 billion compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) by over $1.6 billion, marking the highest quarterly revenue growth rate in 15 years, since the third quarter of 2011.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) stood at 42 cents, doubling the Wall Street estimate of 21 cents.

By division, the Client Computing & Physical AI Group (CCPG) accounted for the largest share of total revenue, recording $8.9 billion, a 13% increase year-on-year.

The Data Center & AI (DCAI) division posted $6.3 billion in revenue, showing the fastest growth with a 59% year-over-year increase.

The foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) business, which had long been considered a "sore spot," also showed remarkable growth, rising 31% to generate $5.8 billion in revenue.

In its recent technology roadmap, the Intel foundry division announced that it has entered the "risk production" stage for its 1.8nm-class process, "Intel 18A-P."

Under the leadership of CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the company also recently secured cybersecurity firm Fortinet as its first identified customer.

CFO David Zinsner explained, "We are meaningfully increasing investments in equipment, cleanrooms, and substrates to support product and foundry growth throughout this year and into next year."

Regarding the second-quarter results, CEO Tan emphasized, "We have recorded our strongest growth in 15 years through faster execution, accountability, and a customer-centric approach. As artificial intelligence drives unprecedented demand for computing, Intel is in an advantageous position to continue growing across our entire network of CPUs, ASICs, advanced packaging, and foundry services."

Intel provided guidance for the third quarter, projecting that this strong performance will continue with revenue between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion and an EPS of 38 cents.

These figures significantly exceed the consensus estimates from market analysts tracked by LSEG, who had predicted $15.1 billion in revenue and an EPS of 27 cents.

Intel shares closed down 2.33% during regular trading, but surged more than 4% in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement, hovering around the $105 level as of 6:00 PM Eastern Time.