Intel shares jumped on Thursday after President Trump said on social media that the semiconductor giant will work with Apple to design and manufacture chips in the U.S.
Intel’s stock rose $12.72, or 10.5%, to $133.82 shortly after trading opened on Thursday.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Intel said it would not comment “about a potential Apple–Intel agreement.”
Mr. Trump’s post about Intel comes after he brokered a deal last August for the U.S. to take a 10% stake in the chipmaker, raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest given that the company conducts other business with the government and that the deal could benefit Intel at the expense of competitors. The Cato Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, at the time called the arrangement an “unprecedented government ownership of private enterprise.”
On Thursday, the president also highlighted the value of the government’s stake, saying Intel’s valuation has climbed from about $100 billion in August to roughly $600 billion today.
“Nine months, and they’ve increased in value over HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS!” Mr. Trump wrote. “America’s stake is now over 60 billion dollars.”
With its 10% stake, the U.S. is the largest holder of Intel stock, ahead of institutional investors such as Vanguard and BlackRock, the tech firm’s second- and third-largest investors with stakes of about 6% each, according to data from FactSet.
Teaming with Intel could help Apple diversify its manufacturing footprint and rely less on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, its major overseas chip supplier, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a research note.
“This preliminary deal to make chips for Apple comes after more than a year of negotiations, with the Trump post now confirming a deal is now in place,” Ives wrote.
He added, “While Apple has diversified its supply chain to other parts of the world, including Vietnam, India and the U.S., this represents a strategic move by Apple to continue diversifying its supply chain to reduce pressure across its manufacturing footprint.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company plans to boost prices on its products to offset higher costs for memory and storage chips, which have been rising due to increased demand from AI companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
