CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) was his favorite stock in the market, citing rising demand for CPUs as companies scale artificial intelligence services and infrastructure.
In a post on X, Cramer said Intel “will work” and described semiconductors as the “best area of the complex.”
Agentic AI Could Fuel CPU Growth
Cramer, on his show, Mad Money, said the market is underappreciating the importance of CPUs in AI systems, arguing that demand could increase significantly as AI deployments scale.
“We’re going to need a ton of CPUs,” Cramer said, adding that Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan believes the ratio of CPUs to GPUs in AI infrastructure could rise significantly.
Cramer said AI infrastructure is becoming increasingly CPU-intensive, citing projections that the industry could move from needing one CPU for every eight GPUs to as many as four CPUs for every GPU over time.
“CPUs are Intel’s bread and butter,” Cramer said.
US Manufacturing Opportunity
Cramer said Intel’s foundry business could benefit as companies invest billions of dollars in AI infrastructure and seek additional sources of advanced chip manufacturing capacity.
He added that growing geopolitical concerns are prompting customers to look beyond Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (NYSE:TSM), creating an opportunity for Intel’s expanding foundry business.
Turnaround Under Lip-Bu Tan
For Cramer, many of the issues that weighed on Intel’s business have been resolved under Lip-Bu Tan, setting the stage for the company’s recovery.
Intel shares have surged about 370% since Lip-Bu Tan took over as CEO in March 2025, when the stock traded around $25, and are up more than 480% over the past year and 228% year to date.
The chipmaker’s outlook is supported by several tailwinds, according to Cramer, including Nvidia’s $5 billion investment, the U.S. government’s nearly 10% stake and Tesla Inc‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) plans to use Intel’s next-generation manufacturing process for chips at Terafab in Austin.
Cramer said investors should focus on where Intel is headed rather than how far the stock has already climbed, adding that “when it comes to Intel, I think the answer is up.”
Price Action: Intel’s shares closed 3.46% higher on Wednesday at $121.10 and rose further 2.68% in extended trading.
Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate Intel stock has a Momentum score in the 99th percentile and a positive price trend across the short, medium and long-term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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