Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL) shares jumped about 8% in early trade on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC) had agreed to work with the company to design and manufacture chips in the United States.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he had decided to support Intel because “we need to design and build our Chips right here in America” and added that “Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America.” Trump did not provide additional details about the arrangement, which he mentioned while highlighting domestic semiconductor manufacturing efforts involving Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD). and Elon Musk’s Terafab venture
Neither Apple nor Intel has publicly commented on the reported agreement. Wedbush analysts wrote that a formalized partnership would represent “a genuine endorsement” of Intel’s foundry business by adding Apple as a high-profile customer alongside Nvidia and projects backed by the US government and SoftBank. They cautioned, however, that Trump’s comments appeared to describe a preliminary arrangement that has yet to be fully detailed.
The analysts wrote that any Apple production at Intel is likely to involve mature or lower-end silicon rather than the company’s flagship application processors, which are still expected to be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) using its advanced process technology. They added that the arrangement would be more positive than negative for TSMC, while Intel’s ability to benefit meaningfully would depend on manufacturing yields and execution. They noted that landing Apple as a foundry customer would be a significant development for Intel’s turnaround strategy under CEO Lip-Bu Tan.