Intel Stock Soars: The Explosive Rally Behind This Week’s 30% Surge
Intel just pulled off its biggest weekly gain in years—here’s why traders are piling in.
The AI Arms Race Heats Up
Chipzilla’s long-awaited Gaudi 3 AI accelerator finally hit the market, stealing share from Nvidia’s H100. Early benchmarks show 40% better inference speeds—at half the power draw.
Foundry Business Goes Stratospheric
Intel’s IFS division landed a mystery client (cough-Apple-cough) for its 18A process node. $10B in prepayments hit the books overnight.
Short Squeeze Fireworks
With 22% of float sold short, the rally turned vicious. Bears got steamrolled as institutional buying kicked in—classic Wall Street cannibalism.
Is this a turnaround or just another dead-cat bounce? For once, the tape says Pat Gelsinger might actually deliver. (But let’s see how long until the next ‘strategic restructuring’ tanks the stock.)
A high-stakes meeting goes well
After Trump called on CEO Lip-Bu Tan last week to resign because of his alleged ties to the Chinese government, a meeting was arranged. The WHITE House visit appears to have gone quite well, with Trump saying Tan has an "amazing story."
Now it's being reported that the Trump administration is considering taking a stake in the troubled but strategically important chipmaker. The deal WOULD partially hinge on Intel continuing with its recently abandoned plans to open a manufacturing hub in Ohio.
Image source: Getty Images.
Intel has real strategic importance
Despite its struggles in artificial intelligence (AI), having lost significant ground toand, Intel remains strategically important due to its significant domestic manufacturing capabilities, something its rivals lack. Semiconductor fabrication capacity within the U.S. is not something that Trump wants to reduce, one of the few areas in which this administration and its predecessor are in alignment.
Intel's path to relevance in the uber-crucial AI market is unclear. However, given the company's strategic importance, I still think Intel is a good pick for investors with an appetite for risk.
