While the benchmark S&P 500 index is overall almost 8% in the green in 2026 and close to its all-time highs (ATH), there has been significant divergence between the performance of the various stocks contained within.
INTC jumps after reports Apple is exploring U.S. chip production talks with Intel, boosting confidence in its growing foundry business.
Following the stock's record 174% rise, which surpasses dot-com bubble records, some are questioning whether Intel is flying too close to the sun.
Chart 1 CoWoS remains the dominant solution for high-end AI accelerators because of its ability to integrate GPUs with high-bandwidth memory using a silicon interposer.
Shares of Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) stock rose over 13% Tuesday on news that Apple is considering using the chipmaker, along with Samsung Electronics Co., to produce processors for its devices in the U.S., Bloomberg reported.
Options traders can't get enough of semiconductor stocks.
The powerful performance in the semiconductor sector continues to broaden amid the AI boom. Micron Technology ( MU ) and Intel ( INTC ), two legacy chip names that spent much of the last cycle in very different chapters of their respective stories, are again pushing record highs, carried by a structural demand surge in AI infrastructure and a wave of analyst upgrades that shows no sign of cresting.
Intel's stock is soaring to fresh highs amid hopes it could soon strike a deal with Apple.
Shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) surged on Tuesday, driven by renewed optimism that the chipmaker could secure a major external customer for its manufacturing business. The stock climbed about 15% to its intraday high of $110.48, recouping losses from the previous session and extending its strong run this year.
Intel has shifted from a turnaround story to a high-volatility AI infrastructure rerating, driven by renewed relevance in the AI hardware stack. Q1 2026 results showed 7% YoY revenue growth, strong Data Center and AI (DCAI) demand, higher margins, and supply-constrained upside—signaling a fundamental change in investor perception. CPU resurgence is materializing as AI infrastructure complexity grows, with Intel positioned to benefit from inference and agentic AI workloads requiring greater CPU orchestration.
Shares of Intel were stalling on Monday after their big run-up over the past month, as investors weighed whether the rally still has room to run. After rising more than 166% in 2026, with most of those gains concentrated in recent weeks, the stock has shown signs of losing momentum.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC | INTC Price Prediction) shares have ripped roughly 398.6% over the past year, climbing from $19.98 on May 1, 2025, to $99.62 on May 1, 2026, with the move only accelerating.