A sharp rally in Intel shares—surging more than 22% following earnings—has dramatically increased the value of the U.S. government’s stake in the chipmaker.
The government is now sitting on an unrealized gain of about $26.5 billion on its Intel (INTC) holdings after the stock jumped in premarket trading Friday, driven by a stronger-than-expected first-quarter report.
The position traces back to an August agreement in which the Trump administration converted $8.9 billion in CHIPS Act grants and Secure Enclave funding into 433.3 million shares at $20.47 each, securing roughly a 9.9% stake. With shares trading near $81.80, the stake is now worth approximately $35.4 billion—nearly tripling in under a year.
In addition, the government holds warrants to acquire another 5% stake at $20 per share, now firmly in the money.
Intel’s earnings fueled the rally, with revenue reaching $13.6 billion, up 7% year over year and ahead of the $12.4 billion forecast. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.29, far above expectations for a $0.01 loss.
The Data Center and AI unit led growth, climbing 22% to $5.1 billion amid rising demand for Xeon chips tied to AI infrastructure expansion.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted growing demand for inference and agentic AI workloads, noting they are “significantly increasing the need for Intel’s CPUs.”
The company expects second-quarter revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion.
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