There's an interesting detail in Intel's 10-Q. Server CPU ASPs Up 48%
Intel's server CPU average selling price (ASP) jumped 48% year over year in the second quarter. Chip analyst Jukan flagged the number from Intel's 10-Q filing on July 27, and the key detail is that it wasn't from raising prices, it was from selling more expensive chips.
ASP is revenue divided by units sold. When supply is tight, a rising ASP can push up revenue and profit even if volume barely moves. Intel's Q2 10-Q put server CPU ASP up 48% year over year, and up 38% for the first half combined. That's an acceleration from Q1's reported 27% increase.
ASP jumped 48% while volume grew just 9%. Intel itself said demand exceeded available supply in both Q2 and the first half, so this looks less like a price hike and more like a tight product mix skewing toward pricier chips
Jul 23, 2026, Intel Q2 2026 earnings release (intc.com)
Intel pointed to a higher mix of premium products sold in Q2 and year-to-date as the main driver, with actual pricing actions playing a smaller role, mostly to offset higher input costs. In other words, roughly the same unit count shipped, but a pricier mix of chips made up more of it. Granite Rapids, Intel's newest server chip built on the Intel 3 process, is a big part of that mix. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said demand for it has been so strong that supply is extremely tight.
Q2 Data Center and AI (DCAI) revenue came in at $6.3 billion, up 59% year over year. Tan said AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute, and CFO Dave Zinsner added that Intel is increasing investments in equipment, clean room space, and substrates. Intel also announced a €5 billion investment plan to expand Xeon processor manufacturing. The fact that volume only grew 9% is also a sign Intel still isn't meeting all the demand it's seeing. A rising ASP flatters earnings today, but whether this boom eventually shows up in shipment volume, not just price, depends on how much that growth rate picks up next quarter.
Why it matters · Intel's profit boost is coming from selling a pricier product mix into supply-constrained demand, not from volume growth, so whether this AI-driven earnings strength is durable depends on whether Intel can actually ship more chips, not just pricier ones.
Worth asking · Is Intel's 48% ASP jump proof of real AI-driven pricing power, or just a temporary mix shift that fades once supply catches up?