Intel shares surged Thursday following reports that the Trump administration is in talks to take an equity stake in the chipmaker, a move aimed at bolstering U.S. semiconductor production and reversing years of market losses for the company. Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that discussions center on supporting Intel's delayed Ohio chip plant and reinforcing domestic manufacturing capacity.
The stock jumped more than 7% in regular trading and an additional 3% after hours, adding over $7 billion to Intel's market value. Intel remains the only U.S. company capable of producing the fastest chips domestically, though competitors like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung also operate plants in the U.S.
The potential investment would align with President Donald Trump's push to expand domestic high-tech production. Trump has previously said he wants more chips made in the U.S., and the government has recently taken stakes in other strategic industries. The Pentagon last week purchased $400 million in equity in rare-earth miner MP Materials, and the administration took a "golden share" in U.S. Steel to facilitate its sale to Nippon Steel.
Intel's planned $20 billion semiconductor facility in Ohio has been repeatedly delayed, with CEO Lip-Bu Tan announcing in July that development there would slow and spending would be closely scrutinized. The company also canceled manufacturing projects in Germany and Poland.
Reports of the government's interest come days after Tan met with Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the White House. The meeting followed Trump's public call for Tan to resign over what he alleged were ties to China. Intel responded that Tan is "deeply committed to advancing U.S. national and economic security interests."
An Intel spokesperson declined to comment on the reports, stating: "We look forward to continuing our work with the Trump Administration to advance these shared priorities, but we are not going to comment on rumors or speculation."
