Shares of Intel (INTC) surged around 8% in on Friday, hitting a fresh all-time high of $118.75.
Investors continued to pile into the semiconductor giant amid growing optimism around its turnaround strategy and artificial intelligence positioning.
The recent rally has been driven by a combination of strong earnings, improving demand for server processors, and reports that Apple is exploring partnerships with Intel and Samsung Electronics to manufacture processors in the United States.
The stock has surged around 200% since the start of the year.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is in discussions with both companies regarding domestic chip production, although no agreement has been finalised.
The potential partnership would represent a significant milestone for Intel’s foundry business, which has become a central focus of the company’s turnaround efforts under Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan.
The broader market also traded higher on Friday. The S&P 500 rose around 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3%.
Investor sentiment improved after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that US nonfarm payrolls increased by 115,000 in April, well ahead of economists’ expectations for 55,000 new jobs.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%.
Meanwhile, other semiconductor and technology stocks also advanced strongly.
Nvidia and Tesla rose roughly 3%, while AMD climbed nearly 8%.
Strong earnings add momentum
Investor optimism around Intel has accelerated following the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings report.
Intel reported revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7% year-on-year, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.29, far ahead of consensus expectations of $0.01.
The company also reported non-GAAP gross margins of 41%, exceeding guidance.
Lip-Bu Tan said during the earnings release that “the next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user,” adding that the shift is “significantly increasing the need for Intel’s CPUs and wafer and advanced packaging offerings.”
The company also received an additional boost after US regulators cleared Intel to expand its investment in AI chip developer SambaNova Systems, allowing the firms to deepen their collaboration.
AI boom revives Intel’s CPU business
Intel’s recent rally reflects growing investor confidence that the company could become a larger beneficiary of the AI infrastructure boom after lagging rivals for much of the past two years.
While Nvidia has dominated the graphics processing unit market, Intel has seen renewed demand for its central processing units used in general-purpose computing, AI host systems, and inference-related workloads.
Morningstar analyst comments published Friday also reinforced the bullish narrative.
The research firm raised its fair value estimate for Intel to $90 from $60, citing stronger-than-expected growth prospects in the server CPU market.
The analyst pointed to AMD’s revised outlook for the server CPU market, which now projects annual growth of more than 35% and a market exceeding $120 billion by 2030.
“We know that Intel was prospering in the near term from high demand for server CPUs used in general-purpose computing, AI hosts, and head nodes within AI GPU servers, and agentic AI applications,” the analyst note said.
The report added that medium- and long-term demand trends now appear significantly stronger than previously anticipated, while concerns around slower personal computer demand may have become less important relative to accelerating server growth.
Turnaround narrative gains strength
Since taking over as CEO in March last year, Lip-Bu Tan has focused on rebuilding Intel’s competitive position through manufacturing expansion, AI partnerships, and deeper relationships with major technology companies.
Investor confidence has strengthened further amid reports that both Apple and Tesla have shown interest in Intel’s manufacturing capabilities.
The improving outlook has helped reposition Intel as one of the semiconductor sector’s strongest turnaround stories after years of underperformance during the early stages of the AI boom.
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