Intel Stock Soared After Trump Said Apple Will Build Chips With It. Is It a Buy?

Shares of chipmaker Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) jumped about 11% on Thursday, as of this writing, after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) "has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America." It was the latest jolt for a stock that has soared more than 500% over the past year, lifting Intel's market value past $670 billion.

So far, though, neither Apple nor Intel has confirmed the arrangement, and no terms have been disclosed. That leaves investors with two questions instead of one: whether an Apple foundry win would move the needle, and whether there's a deal at all -- or just a post.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's actually confirmed

So, what is actually confirmed?

Nothing, really.

Trump's post tied the news to his push to bring chipmaking back to the U.S., following earlier moves he credited with drawing Nvidia and Elon Musk's planned Terafab chip plant to Intel's factories. But Apple declined to comment, and Intel didn't confirm anything. The two companies reportedly reached a preliminary deal back in May for Intel to manufacture some Apple-designed chips, and even that was never formally announced.

Apple dropped Intel's processors from its Macs in 2020 in favor of its own designs, so any work now would have Intel acting as a contract manufacturer for chips Apple creates itself -- not a revival of Intel-designed silicon. Reports point to older or lower-end Apple chips shifting to Intel's factories, with production not expected until late 2027, while Apple's most advanced processors stay with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Even Intel's leadership tends to keep these wins quiet until a customer is ready to talk.

"We have no plan to announce the customer unless the customer wants to announce it," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said on Intel's first-quarter earnings call in April, describing how he handles foundry deals.

That makes a presidential post an unusual place to first hear about one.

What an Apple win would add

Intel's turnaround is certainly making progress -- and it's a big reason the stock has run up so sharply. Revenue rose 7% year over year to $13.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, and the company's data center and AI business grew 22%. And Tan, who took over early last year, has steadied an operation that spent years losing ground. Also worth noting, the U.S. government bought a stake of about 10% last August for $8.9 billion -- a position now worth more than $50 billion.

Intel's foundry revenue grew 16% to $5.4 billion in the first quarter, yet outside customers make up only a small slice of that, and Intel remains the main user of its own leading-edge factories. Landing Apple would be the kind of marquee customer the company hasn't been able to win over for years.

But even if Intel does win Apple's business, it could take some time to ramp up to meaningful volume.

And then there's the main issue: Intel stock's valuation -- with or without Apple -- is hard to justify.

At more than $674 billion in market value on about $53 billion in trailing-12-month revenue, the stock trades at over 13 times sales -- a rich multiple for a cyclical chipmaker. The valuation, therefore, arguably already prices in factors such as a successful turnaround and new customers like Apple.

So is Intel a buy here?

I don't think so -- at least not at this price, and not on this news. The business is in better shape than it's been in years, and a confirmed Apple deal would genuinely help the foundry story. But the stock has already baked in plenty of optimism, and the spark behind this week's move isn't a signed agreement. It's a social-media post that the companies themselves haven't stood behind. I'd want to see Apple and Intel confirm the work -- and see Intel prove it can win and profit from customers like it -- before paying up.

Daniel Sparks and his clients have positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.