INTC and Apple reached a preliminary agreement on chip manufacturing, sending its stock price soaring to a record high during trading.
Intel (INTC) and Apple (AAPL) reached a preliminary chip manufacturing agreement on May 8, 2026, under which Intel will manufacture chips for some Apple devices. This news directly caused a significant surge in INTC's stock price during the US trading day, with intraday gains exceeding 18% at one point, reaching a high of $110.48, a new all-time high (ATH), before closing at $108.15 (+12.92%). After-hours trading saw further gains, reaching $110.35 (+2.03%). According to Yahoo Finance, negotiations for this agreement have been ongoing for over a year, and its recent finalization signifies that Intel's foundry services business has secured Apple as a major client, while also helping Apple further diversify its reliance on TSMC (TSM). (IT Home)
This event was not sudden: initial rumors circulated as early as May 5, 2026, and INTC's stock price immediately rose; after the WSJ confirmed the preliminary agreement on May 8, the market reaction accelerated, highlighting investors' optimistic expectations for Intel's foundry transformation. AAPL's stock price rose slightly by about 2% during the same period, reflecting the strategic value of supply chain diversification rather than core business disruption.
Agreement details and background
- The agreement stipulates that Intel will act as a foundry to manufacture Apple's own chips (Apple Silicon series) for certain Apple devices (such as undisclosed product lines), instead of reverting to Intel x86 processors. This continues the new cooperation model Apple adopted after separating from Intel CPUs in 2020, with a focus on verifying Intel's advanced process technologies such as the 18A/20A. (blocktempo news )
- Negotiation Process : The two sides engaged in intensive consultations for over a year, driven by the Trump administration (facilitated by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick), aiming to build a domestic US chip ecosystem and attract companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Musk to Intel Foundry .
- Strategic significance : For Intel, this is a crucial breakthrough for the turnaround of its foundry business, alleviating capacity pressure from TSMC (driven by AI demand); for Apple, it provides an option other than TSM, reducing geopolitical risks. Market concerns focus on mass production yield, order size, and specific process nodes; currently, it is still in the early stages, and there are no official mass production details yet. (IT Home)
INTC stock performance (Yahoo Finance)
| index | Value (USD) | change | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| closing price | 108.15 | +12.37 (+12.92%) | Compared to the previous closing price of 95.78 |
| Intraday high | 110.48 | - | All-time high (ATH) |
| intraday low | 100.08 | - | Opening price: 100.50 |
| Trading volume | 189,332,662 | - | 81% higher than the average of 104M |
| After-hours price | 110.35 | +2.20 (+2.03%) | 2026-05-08 20:33 UTC |
| Market capitalization | 543.562B | - | Beta 2.19 (High Volatility) |
Data is current as of the US stock market close on May 8, 2026 (16:00 EDT, i.e., 20:00 UTC). It is less than 24 hours old and highly recent (May 9, 2026, 01:46 UTC). The stock price surged by as much as 18% intraday, with Twitter tracking showing a +14%-15% gain, consistent with Yahoo data (HKEK's mention of $130.46 may be a momentary misreport or a different timeframe). Yahoo Finance
Market and social reactions
After the news broke, the X platform (Twitter) saw a surge in discussion, with 36 highly interactive tweets confirming the event and a total of over 2 million views.
| Date (UTC) | author | Key content | Interaction (browsing/liking) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 16:49 | @financialjuice | Apple-Intel Preliminary Agreement [WSJ] | 22K / 45 |
| 2026-05-08 17:05 | @unusual_whales | Breaking News: Intel to Manufacture Chips for Apple Devices | 64K / 434 |
| 2026-05-08 16:55 | @KobeissiLetter | INTC +14% ATH, Agreement Finalized | 830K / 6.3K |
| 2026-05-08 16:52 | @StockSavvyShay | Apple returns to Intel Foundry, reducing its reliance on TSM. | 63K / 428 |
| 2026-05-08 17:45 | @Cointelegraph | INTC +14%, Apple's OEM Protocol | 11K / 118 | X X X X X
Social consensus: This is positive for INTC Foundry's ambitions, with some KOLs viewing it as a "phoenix rising from the ashes," and Trump's investment in INTC may be another boast; however, the risk of a pullback and uncertainty regarding mass production are worth noting. There are no significant negative voices, and overall sentiment is bullish .
Potential impacts and risks
On the positive side : INTC has surged 113% this month, with a market capitalization exceeding $540 billion, proving the effectiveness of government and customer endorsements. If orders materialize, earnings per share could increase by 5 cents (in 4-5 years), and coupled with the Nvidia/Musk partnership, the potential for contract manufacturing revenue is enormous. Apple's supply chain diversification aligns with the trend of tight AI production capacity.
Risk considerations :
| Risk factors | Severity | detail |
|---|---|---|
| Mass production uncertain | high | The initial protocol lacks details regarding scale and nodes; yield rate remains to be verified. |
| competitive pressure | middle | TSMC is in charge; orders may only be for trial production. |
| Valuation bubble | middle | PE N/A, EPS -0.60, short-term speculation-driven. |
Outlook : Strong short-term catalysts (next earnings report 07-23), but monitoring of formal contracts and 18A process progress is necessary. Investors may consider post-ATH pullbacks as entry points, while conservative investors should wait for mass production confirmation. Data consistency is high (multi-source cross-validation, no >5% conflict), but the event is very new, and after-hours data may fluctuate.
The data comes from WSJ reprints (IT Home, etc.), Yahoo real-time quotes, and X-High interactive tweets, providing comprehensive coverage without any major omissions.