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.
Intel surged from under $40 to ~$94 as demand exceeded supply, with Q1 2026 revenue at $13.6B and DCAI up 22% YoY. The shift from GPU training to CPU-driven inference and agentic workloads is structurally expanding Intel's relevance in AI infrastructure. Despite strong momentum, Intel still reports GAAP losses and negative free cash flow, with foundry remaining a multi-year profitability challenge.
Intel shares jumped 114% in April, lifting the chipmaker's market cap past $470 billion. It was by far the best month in Intel's 55-year history on the Nasdaq, with the best prior month coming in July 1973, when the stock rose 70%.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan joins the board of PsiQuantum, a privately held quantum computing company.
Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction) market capitalization has climbed to roughly $476 billion, a record valuation that has Wall Street debating whether the chipmaker has earned its seat at the AI-era table or whether retail and institutional money has run ahead of the fundamentals.