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Intel (INTC) early Friday was on track to notch its best weeklong stretch in nearly 40 years before the rally sputtered.
Shares slid 2% Friday. That still had the stock up 23.6% since the start of the week—a solid return, though less than the near 30% weekly gain seen earlier Friday, which would have marked the stock’s best five-day stretch since 1987.
Intel was one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 last year, when shares lost 60% of their value and the storied American chipmaker was dropped from the blue-chip Dow. The company has struggled to keep up with competitors in the race to develop AI chips and has invested billions in an uncertain turnaround plan.
Shares got a boost early this week when Vice President JD Vance, speaking at an AI conference in Paris, said the Trump administration would take steps to ensure AI chips are designed and manufactured in the U.S. Intel’s foundry business, which manufactures chips for third parties, could benefit from Trump forcing tech companies to fabricate their tech domestically. Intel Foundry was a big bet of former CEO Pat Gelsinger that lost more than $13 billion last year.
The stock got another boost this week from speculation that Intel may partner with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), the world’s largest chip manufacturer and major Intel Foundry competitor, to fabricate chips in the U.S. and benefit from protectionist policies implemented by Trump and former president Joe Biden.
Citi analysts on Thursday said they weren’t optimistic about the benefits of such an arrangement; in their view, Intel would struggle to adapt to TSMC’s processes and working arrangements. “We still believe Intel should exit foundry,” they concluded.
The TSMC rumor was just the latest in a series of rumored tie-ups. Qualcomm (QCOM) reportedly approached Intel last year to propose a takeover, and analysts have speculated that Broadcom (AVGO) could be interested in acquiring the company.
Update—February 14, 2025: This article has been updated to reflect Intel’s closing price Friday.
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