Intel (INTC) stock climbed higher Wednesday on a report that rival Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) is in talks with a group of chipmakers, including Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD), that would run Intel’s chip manufacturing business.
According to Reuters, the consortium, which would also include Broadcom (AVGO), would take over Intel’s foundry business, which is responsible for building chips for both Intel and third-party contractors. Intel reported a net loss of $18.8 billion in 2024; the foundry segment saw a total operating income loss of $11.6 billion on the year.
Shares of Intel were up roughly 3% in afternoon trading following the report and are up 1.6% year to date. Zoom out further, however, and Intel’s stock price is down 54% over the past 12 months.
As of 2:10:40 PM EDT. Market Open.
INTC TSM NVDA
AI chip giant Nvidia’s stock price is off 14% year to date on concerns that the AI trade has run its course and that tariffs and export controls will handicap the company’s sales moving forward. Still, Nvidia shares are up 24% over the past year.
Shares of TSMC, Broadcom, and Nvidia rose on the news.
Intel had no comment on the report.
The moves come as the Trump administration works to guarantee the future of Intel’s chip-building business in the US. While Intel is the country’s largest chip manufacturer, the US accounts for only 12% of the world’s chip production, down from 37% in 1990.
Those declines came into stark relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, when chip shortages impacted everything from consumer electronics to automotive sales. US officials have also raised concerns about the potential for geopolitical conflict, including fears that China could invade Taiwan, and natural disasters disrupting chip shipments to the US, which could dramatically impact large swaths of the economy.
The Trump administration has previously pushed for TSMC to buy up part of Intel’s business in the hopes of propping it up over the long term.
Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger tried to spin up the company’s foundry segment into a third-party chip manufacturer to rival TSMC’s own semiconductor fabrication business.
But the effort has been slow going so far, and Intel’s board ousted Gelsinger last year. Co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus are currently steering the ship until the board finds Gelsinger’s permanent replacement.
Both Intel and TSMC have received billions of dollars via the CHIPS Act to help them pay for new manufacturing facilities in the US. On March 3, TSMC said it would invest $100 billion to build new plants in Arizona in addition to the $65 billion it already earmarked for the region.
