May 13, 2026, 07:05 PDT — Santa Clara, California.
- Intel dropped around 2% out of the gate, threatening to stall a six-week surge that’s added more than $440 billion to its market value.
- Even after racking up over $12 billion in paper losses, bearish traders haven’t backed down—short interest is still hovering near a one-year peak, S3 Partners data cited by Bloomberg shows.
- This goes beyond Intel. Semiconductors have powered U.S. equities higher this year, and any stumble in the sector could send shockwaves through the whole market.
Intel Corp. shares slid in early U.S. trading Wednesday, opening a window for short sellers following one of Wall Street’s quickest large-cap runs this year.
The stock slipped about 2% to $118.23. It opened at $124.05, then ranged from $117.46 to $126.55, market data showed. Still trailing late March prices, the chipmaker hasn’t closed that gap.
Why it matters now: Intel’s stock has started moving in a new way—no longer just grinding along. Since March 30, the Philadelphia semiconductor index jumped 64%, leaving the S&P 500’s nearly 17% rise behind. And Intel? Reuters reports the stock has almost tripled over the same period.
Chip shares are increasingly calling the shots in the broader market. Semiconductor and chip-equipment names now account for 18% of the S&P 500 by weight, and JonesTrading’s Michael O’Rourke says about 70% of this year’s $5.1 trillion gain in the index is thanks to semis and memory plays.
According to Bloomberg, Intel shares have surged 214% from their March 30 low, piling on over $440 billion in market value and handing short sellers paper losses exceeding $12 billion. Short interest—shares borrowed and sold betting on a fall—is hovering near its one-year high.
“Intel’s almost like a poster child for the momentum trade right now,” S3 Partners managing director Matthew Unterman told Bloomberg. “At some point, the momentum’s going to stall.” The Business Times
Bulls aren’t out of luck yet. Reuters, picking up on a Wall Street Journal report last week, said Intel has reached a tentative deal to produce chips for Apple—a shot in the arm for Intel’s foundry business, which manufactures chips designed by outside companies. Both Intel and Apple declined to comment. The report also didn’t specify which Apple devices could feature the chips.
Intel might be in line for a customer no foundry would pass up. Apple—currently relying on Taiwan’s TSMC for its chips—jostles with Nvidia and AMD for spots on those top-tier production lines, Reuters reports.
Bulls got a lifeline from Intel’s latest numbers. First-quarter revenue moved up 7% to $13.6 billion, with adjusted earnings at $0.29 a share. For the second quarter, the company expects revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion. CEO Lip-Bu Tan flagged stronger demand for Intel CPUs, wafer capacity, and advanced packaging—putting chips together for faster systems—as AI inference and agentic AI start to take hold.
Price and execution are the big hurdles. Intel is trading at more than 100 times forward earnings, Bloomberg reports—a level about five times higher than its average over the past decade. Analysts, on average, have a price target of around $85, implying shares would need to drop 34% from where they finished on Monday. For the first quarter, Intel posted a GAAP net loss of $3.7 billion, along with negative adjusted free cash flow of $2.0 billion.
One more warning sign: the crowding. “Anytime you see parabolic moves in anything, you have to ask yourself, are things getting too ebullient here?” Peter Tuz, president at Chase Investment Counsel, told Reuters. Reuters
Prediction markets showed no movement in manufacturing sentiment. Over on Polymarket, the contract gauging whether Intel and TSMC would announce a joint venture before July stuck at 0% for “Yes”—notably, this market doesn’t overlap with the Apple talks in the headlines. Polymarket
There’s a lot swirling around Intel shares right now, with more than just the latest earnings on investors’ minds. Apple’s influence, the AI ramp-up, and Washington’s drive for domestic chip output are all factors, plus hopes—or maybe wagers—that Intel’s much-criticized manufacturing arm will start bringing in outside customers. The company has little room to slip.
