TLDR
- President Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple has agreed to design and build chips with Intel in the U.S., sending INTC up ~11%
- Neither Apple nor Intel has confirmed any deal, and no terms have been disclosed
- Other chip stocks also rallied — Micron up 4.7%, Marvell up 5.7%, Qualcomm and Broadcom both up 3%
- Intel’s foundry revenue grew 16% to $5.4 billion in Q1 2026, but outside customers still make up a small portion
- Intel stock has surged over 500% in the past year, pushing its market cap past $670 billion
Intel stock jumped roughly 11% on Thursday after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build chips in the United States.
The post sent INTC to $134.12, with a day’s range between $127.92 and $135.46.
Trump wrote: “Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America.” He framed it as part of his push to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S., alongside earlier deals he said involved Nvidia and Elon Musk’s planned Terafab chip factory.
There’s just one problem — neither Apple nor Intel has confirmed any of it.
Apple declined to comment. Intel said nothing. No terms have been disclosed. There was a report in May of a preliminary agreement for Intel to manufacture some Apple-designed chips, but even that was never formally announced.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan addressed this kind of thing on the Q1 earnings call: “We have no plan to announce the customer unless the customer wants to announce it.” That makes a presidential Truth Social post a pretty unusual way to first hear about a foundry deal.
The chip sector moved broadly higher on the news. Micron gained 4.7%, Marvell rose 5.7%, Qualcomm and Broadcom each added 3%, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF climbed 3.2%.
Intel’s Foundry Business Gets a Spotlight
If a deal with Apple does exist, it would be a big win for Intel’s foundry ambitions. Intel’s foundry revenue grew 16% year over year to $5.4 billion in Q1 2026. But outside customers still make up only a small slice of that — Intel remains the main user of its own factories.
Landing Apple would be the kind of marquee name Intel has struggled to attract. For context, Apple dropped Intel’s processors from its Macs in 2020 and moved to its own chip designs. Any new arrangement would have Intel acting as a contract manufacturer — not reviving Intel-designed silicon in Apple products.
Reports suggest older or lower-end Apple chips would shift to Intel’s factories, with production not expected until late 2027. Apple’s most advanced processors would stay with TSMC.
Intel’s 18A next-generation manufacturing process entered initial production this week, which the company sees as a step forward in its foundry competitiveness.
The Valuation Question
Intel’s overall business has improved. Revenue rose 7% year over year to $13.6 billion in Q1 2026, and its data center and AI segment grew 22%. The U.S. government holds about a 10% stake, acquired last August for $8.9 billion — a position now worth more than $50 billion.
But the stock’s valuation is hard to ignore. At a market cap above $674 billion on roughly $53 billion in trailing revenue, INTC trades at over 13 times sales — a rich multiple for a cyclical chipmaker.
The stock is up more than 500% over the past year. A lot of good news already appears to be priced in — with or without Apple.
Intel’s next-generation 18A process entered initial production earlier this week, which the company called a milestone in its manufacturing roadmap.
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