What Happened?
Shares of computer processor maker Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) jumped 5.4% in the afternoon session after the semiconductor sector received a major boost as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) secured a deal to sell up to US$60 billion in artificial intelligence chips to Meta Platforms over five years.
This landmark agreement, which also allows Meta to purchase as much as 10% of the chip firm, is one of the latest blockbuster deals in the artificial intelligence space, signaling massive investment by tech giants. The news prompted a significant rally in AMD's shares, which jumped more than 10% in premarket trading. The deal not only highlights the immense demand for specialized AI hardware but also contributed to a broader rebound in technology stocks, helping to ease recent investor fears about the disruptive impacts of AI.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Intel’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 41 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 18 days ago when the stock gained 4.6% on the news that reports revealed that the company planned to raise server CPU prices amid shortages, coupled with a massive spending forecast from cloud giant Amazon. According to a Reuters report, Intel and a key rival intended to increase server CPU prices by as much as 10% in the Chinese market due to unexpected supply constraints. The positive sentiment was amplified after Amazon announced a $200 billion spending plan for 2026, which boosted the entire AI-related semiconductor sector. This news was particularly relevant for Intel, which had previously reached an agreement to produce custom Xeon 6 server chips for Amazon. Adding to the bullish news, an analyst at Seaport Research Partners upgraded Intel's stock from Neutral to Buy, citing confidence in the company's future performance and potential market share recovery driven by new products.
Intel is up 17.2% since the beginning of the year, but at $46.16 per share, it is still trading 15% below its 52-week high of $54.32 from January 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Intel’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $730.56.
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