SANTA CLARA, California, May 9, 2026, 06:16 PDT
Intel has struck a tentative deal to manufacture certain chips for Apple devices, according to Friday’s report from the Wall Street Journal. That’s a notable win for Intel’s foundry business, which typically doesn’t land outside customers. Both Intel and Apple gave no comment to Reuters.
Timing is crucial here. Apple is searching for new chipmaking partners just as advanced processor supplies grow scarce. Intel, for its part, wants a big-name client to prove it can go head-to-head with contract giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung. Earlier this week, Reuters said Apple had looked into tapping both Intel and Samsung for main device chip production stateside .
Investors didn’t just see a routine customer update in the report. Intel’s shares last quoted at $124.92 — up roughly 14% from the previous close — after touching $130.46 on Friday. U.S. markets, meanwhile, are shut for the weekend.
The report doesn’t specify which Apple devices might get Intel chips. That’s a notable omission. Apple moves over 200 million iPhones annually, not to mention its iPad and Mac lines—so even a smaller chip contract could be significant for Intel if it manages to meet Apple’s requirements.
Intel posted a stronger first quarter, even as the Apple news broke. Revenue climbed to $13.6 billion, marking a 7% gain from last year. For the current quarter, the chipmaker projects $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion in revenue. Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan pointed to “the next wave of AI” as driving fresh demand for Intel’s CPUs, wafers, and advanced packaging. Finance chief David Zinsner, for his part, said the company’s priority remains “maximizing our factory network.” Intel Corporation
Intel Foundry’s books lay bare the story: first-quarter revenue hit $5.4 billion, but nearly all of it came from serving Intel’s own products—outside customers accounted for just $174 million. Operating loss? A steep $2.4 billion. Securing a major external client would move the needle fast.
Lynx Equity isn’t budging on its Intel call. The firm reiterated its preference for Intel over AMD, even after news of the Apple-Intel tie-up, and kept its price target at $175. That said, analysts pointed out that any revenue boost from the Apple-Intel Foundry Services agreement is still a ways off — process development and design work need to come first.
The competitive angle looks less dramatic than the market reaction implies. Apple isn’t ditching its own silicon designs for Intel chips. The shift would see Intel competing to handle Apple’s chip manufacturing—a job currently owned by TSMC in Apple’s supply chain.
That doesn’t mean Apple is dropping TSMC right away. The company’s discussions with Intel and Samsung signal more of a backup plan than a full pivot from its key advanced-chip provider. Samsung’s facility in Texas is also being considered, per a prior Bloomberg report picked up by Reuters.
The risk here is obvious. A preliminary agreement might shrink, get delayed, or just never translate to real output. Apple might kick things off with smaller chip batches and still rely on TSMC for key iPhone components. The company could also hold off until Intel demonstrates strong yields — meaning enough usable chips per run — before it commits to bigger orders.
There’s also Washington’s involvement. According to Reuters, the U.S. government—Intel’s top shareholder at this point—helped get Apple into the discussions. An administration official told the outlet they’ve been working to “drum up business for Intel.” Reuters
Right now, the agreement is more a message than money in the door. It shows Apple is open to putting Intel’s manufacturing revival to the test. The real challenge looms: delivering chips that meet Apple’s standards, in volume, on schedule.
