Intel shares rose 10% to around $133 in early trading after President Trump said Apple will partner with Intel on chip design and production in the U.S. The move extended a 228% year-to-date rally for INTC and positioned the potential Apple relationship as a major validation point for Intel Foundry, given Apple’s current reliance on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing for advanced chips.
The announcement landed alongside broader optimism for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and a risk-on market backdrop. Trump also claimed credit for helping Intel secure foundry deals with NVIDIA and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s upcoming TeraFab. Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned that price increases are “unavoidable” because AI demand is driving up memory and storage chip costs, making domestic capacity a possible pressure-relief lever.
Intel’s manufacturing roadmap is also drawing attention, with its 18A process and 18A-P node in early risk production. Intel Foundry reported revenue of $5.4 billion, up 20% sequentially in Q1 2026, while the company posted non-GAAP EPS of $0.29 against breakeven guidance. Bank of America upgraded Intel to Buy and lifted its target to $135 from $96.
Risks remain significant. AMD captured 33% of the server CPU market in Q1 2026, and Intel’s valuation is stretched, with EPS (TTM) of -0.6 and a forward P/E ratio of 147x. Formal confirmation or financial terms from Apple or Intel would be the next key catalyst.
