New York, Feb 23, 2026, 11:57 EST — Regular session
- Intel shares slide late morning, with tariff jitters chipping away at traders’ appetite for risk.
- Chip stocks showed a mixed bag ahead of a key week packed with sector earnings.
- Nvidia is in focus for investors on Feb. 25, with Intel set to make its conference appearance on March 4.
Intel slipped roughly 0.7% to $43.81 in late-morning Monday trades, pushing its latest decline a bit further. Investors trimmed U.S. equity positions amid renewed tariff jitters. Around 25 million shares changed hands, with Intel swinging from $43.42 to $44.53 so far.
The retreat matters for Intel. The chipmaker faces steep bills as it tries to overhaul its manufacturing and product strategy, with demand still looking shaky. Semiconductors and the machines that build them move across borders more freely than most goods—so when trade policies move, forecasts can shift in a hurry.
The next markers are coming into focus for traders: Nvidia’s results later this week, then an Intel spot at an investor conference set for early March. In the meantime, markets keep guessing at the shape of the new U.S. tariff regime and how it will play out in practice.
Chip stocks landed in different spots: Nvidia picked up roughly 0.6%. AMD, though, gave up almost 1.9%, and Taiwan Semiconductor edged down 0.2%. Intel finished Friday at $44.11—down about 19% from its 52-week peak of $54.60 hit on Jan. 22, per MarketWatch.
President Donald Trump dropped plans for emergency tariffs after the Supreme Court rejected them, but quickly moved to impose a fresh 15% tariff across all U.S. imports. Investors now face a tangle of questions around timing, scope, and possible carve-outs. “Uncertainty remains high,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide in Philadelphia. Reuters
Nvidia drops its numbers on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with the conference call locked in for 2 p.m. PT. That date has become something of a barometer for sector sentiment among traders.
Intel keeps pushing its partnership angle with Nvidia to stoke interest in its turnaround. Last September, both companies announced plans to co-develop data-center and PC gear connecting their chips via Nvidia’s NVLink—the fast interconnect between processors. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan put it plainly: the company “appreciate[s] the confidence” Nvidia has shown through its investment. NVIDIA Newsroom
Nvidia picked up over 214.7 million Intel shares in a private placement, paying $23.28 each, Intel revealed in a Dec. 29 filing. The $5 billion investment has closed, according to the disclosure.
Intel’s late-January warning continues to loom, the company citing trouble keeping up with AI-fueled demand for data-center chips due to supply limitations. CFO David Zinsner told investors he anticipated the supply situation would pick up in the second quarter, after reaching a low point in the first.
Intel announced last week that Zinsner is set to discuss the company’s business and strategy at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, scheduled for March 4 at 8:35 a.m. PT. Investors are expected to tune in for any word on server-chip supply, the foundry initiative—Intel’s effort to manufacture chips for other companies—as well as how it’s handling cash and production capacity.
The landscape could shift fast. Should tariffs start to weigh on PC demand or disrupt chipmaking equipment shipments, Intel might see pressure on both volumes and its tight production timeline. Traders, for now, are zeroed in on Nvidia’s Feb. 25 results and what Zinsner has to say on March 4.
