Intel's Chief Financial Officer, Dave Zinsner, stated that demand for the company's high-margin server processors remains robust and is anticipated to continue into the next year. Speaking at an event hosted by Morgan Stanley in San Francisco on Wednesday, Zinsner highlighted that Intel is struggling to keep up with increasing order volumes due to constraints within its own manufacturing facilities and broader semiconductor industry supply shortages. Zinsner noted that following a sales increase of over 20% last year, the server market is expected to achieve significant growth again this year. A surge in demand for equipment used to create and operate artificial intelligence services has further driven need for processors from companies like Intel. These processors play a supporting role in related hardware, causing supply tightness to affect a wider range of suppliers. While this trend allows Intel to belatedly benefit from a key development shaping the computing industry, the company continues efforts to ramp up capacity at its factories and within its supply chain. The once-dominant semiconductor firm has spent years working to regain its technological edge and recapture lost market share. The operational efficiency of its manufacturing plants is crucial to these turnaround hopes. Zinsner indicated that while capacity shortages will gradually ease, they are expected to persist through the end of this year. He pointed out that many of Intel's factories are currently operating at utilization rates exceeding 100%. Boosted by these comments, Intel's stock rose as much as 6.9% on Wednesday, reaching a high of $46.08. Year-to-date, the stock has gained 23%.
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