Intel Surges 10.6% on Apple Chip Deal; Analysts Bet on Foundry

Intel (INTC) shares surged 10.64% to close at $133.99 after former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple (AAPL) had agreed to design and manufacture chips with Intel inside the United States. The stock has since traded above $140.

Possible Reasons

The direct catalyst is the potential Apple deal, which represents a major vote of confidence in Intel's manufacturing capabilities. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon, speaking on CNBC, framed the move bluntly: "Intel at these levels... means investors are betting on its foundry business." He added that the market is beginning to value the foundry business separately from Intel's traditional chip design operations.

Context

The news comes as Intel aggressively pursues a turnaround under CEO Pat Gelsinger, who has made the foundry business a cornerstone of his strategy to regain leadership in the semiconductor industry after losing market share to rivals like AMD and NVIDIA.

Similar Moves in the Sector

The semiconductor sector saw broad gains, with NVIDIA (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) edging higher, while pure-play foundry TSMC slipped slightly, suggesting investors see the deal as a potential threat to TSMC's dominance.