Nvidia ( NVDA 1.34% ) was one of the earliest beneficiaries of the accelerating adoption of AI, supplying the graphics processing units (GPUs) that underpin the technology. The company has ridden its dominance in the space to a $5 trillion market cap, and its growth continues to accelerate. Investors have been looking for the next generation of AI winners, hoping to get in on the ground floor and ride them to new heights. One of the biggest winners of 2026 thus far is Intel ( INTC +3.67% ) , which has soared 483% since the year began (as I write this) and shows no signs of slowing. One Wall Street analyst has made a bold prediction, suggesting Intel will eventually join Nvidia in the $5 trillion club. Let's take a look to see what it would take to get there. A long-awaited turnaround Intel likely needs no introduction. The company's x86 CPU became the industry standard for personal computers, and its "Intel Inside" marketing campaign established the company as a household name. Unfortunately, Intel missed the shift to mobile and has faced increasing competition in the CPU market. Moreover, the dominance of GPUs in AI processing further relegated the company to near obscurity. However, Lip-Bu Tan took the helm as Intel’s CEO in early 2025, and the company embarked on a new strategic direction. The chief executive streamlined the organization to focus on Intel's foundry operations, revitalize its x86 business, and concentrate its efforts on AI -- and that strategy appears to be paying off. Intel has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with Apple to fabricate some of the chips used in its flagship devices. Alphabet has placed an order with Intel for 3 million of its custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for 2028. Intel has also joined Elon Musk's Terafab project to create chips for SpaceX , xAI, and Tesla . Finally, Intel's most advanced chip -- the 18A-P -- has entered the early stages of production. These deals and others like them are beginning to show up in Intel's financial results. In the first quarter, revenue rose 7% year over year to $13.6 billion, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) soared 123% to $ 0.29, though on a GAAP basis , Intel is still losing money. The company also generated more than $1 billion in operating cash flow. While there's still more work to do, Intel is obviously heading in the right direction. A bold prediction from Wall Street Is easy to see the vast potential looming for a reinvigorated Intel, but one Wall Street analyst is taking his bullish outlook to the next level. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry maintains a buy rating and $200 price target on Intel. That suggests potential upside of 70% for investors over the coming year or so. However, it's the analyst's long-term outlook that's head-turning. Chowdry argues that the same dynamics that drove Nvidia up more than 1,000% since early 2023 are now at play for Intel, as AI enters the next phase of implementation. Today's Change ( 3.67 %) $ 4.29 Current Price $ 121.34 Specifically, as AI moves from primarily training to inference and applications, the dynamics of the marketplace will shift. "AI training is the past -- AI inference is the present -- AI applications are the future, i.e., GPUs are the past, CPUs are the future," he wrote. The analyst estimates that the AI inference and applications markets will be eight times the size of the AI training market, which is the linchpin of his investing thesis. The analyst projects that Intel will generate earnings per share of $10 by 2030, which he says is conservative, and that its market cap will eventually reach $5 trillion. "Intel is USA Crown Jewel, and Intel will be a $5 Trillion Company -- any AI processor, if it is not on Intel 18A, it has already lost," Chowdry wrote. Is he right? Intel is expected to generate EPS of $1.09 in 2026 and $1.55 in 2027, according to Wall Street's consensus estimates, and the stock is currently selling for 111 times forward earnings. If its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio remains constant, EPS of $10 would push its share price to $1,100, up 848%, driving its market cap to $5.57 trillion. While the math works, I take exception to the analyst's contention that any AI processor that's not the Intel 18A "has already lost." If the AI boom has taught us anything, it's that there are many paths to success. For example, while Nvidia's GPU was the first -- and still dominant -- AI processor, rivals are creating competitive GPUS, TPUs, and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and all are finding some success. Many of these semiconductors have been designed to be more efficient for specific tasks. Intel will likely find success in AI, but if its path to $5 trillion relies on it being the only winner, I simply don't buy it.

Source: The Motley Fool

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