Already looking like something right out of the dot com bubble, Intel stock soared even more moments ago, surging almost 20% and hitting a new all time high over $130 (it was trading at $80 a few days ago), after the WSJ reported that the White House-backed chipmaker has reached a preliminary agreement to manufacture some of the chips that power Apple devices. Which is ironic as just 6 short years ago Apple surprised the market when it announced it was parting ways with Intel, replacing the company's chips with its own, a move which was dubbed a huge success. Now, following intense White House pressure, it has decided to reverse this decision.
While it is well known that talks between the two companies have been ongoing for more than a year - which has been one of the reasons for Intel's recent meteoric advance - they hammered out a formal deal in recent months.
It’s still unclear which Apple products Intel would make chips for, if any, or if today's PR was just to plant the seeds for the US to sell its Intel stake after Trump was boasting recently how much money he made for US taxpayers since getting a big stake in the company last summer when it was trading below $20.
Intel has two main business lines: designing chips and manufacturing them - both its own designs and external customers’ - in its Intel Foundry unit. Both businesses had been underperforming for years before Lip-Bu Tan took over as chief executive last spring vowing to revitalize them.
Following our advice from August 7, 2025...
The Pentagon took a stake in US rare earth miner MP Materials... when will it do the same with Intel
... one week later, on August 14, the Trump administration struck a deal to convert nearly $9 billion in federal grants into Intel stock,giving the U.S. government a 10% stake in the chip-maker.
And the key bit from theWSJreport: the White House"played a key role in bringing Apple to the table."
According to the report, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has met repeatedly over the last year with high-ranking Apple officials, including CEO Tim Cook, as well as SpaceX chief Elon Musk and Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang,to try to convince them to get into business with Intel, some of the people familiar with the matter said.
And with the Apple deal, Intel has now signed partnerships with all three. Now it remains to be seen if any of the three will actually use Intel's chips for more than just press release bullet points.
Source: ZeroHedge News
