New York, June 5, 2026, 06:02 (EDT)
Intel shares dipped ahead of the U.S. open Friday. The company announced a new AI partnership with Foxconn, but that didn’t stop chip stocks from feeling pressure after Broadcom’s outlook weighed on the sector. Intel was last at $111.78, off 0.8%. Broadcom and AMD were also in the red early.
Nasdaq futures dropped 1.2% and S&P 500 futures slid 0.6% as selling in AI names extended into a second day. The pressure came ahead of U.S. nonfarm payrolls later Friday. Investors are starting to look harder at the price of the AI trade, not just buying the story. Saxo’s Charu Chanana said, “AI demand has not disappeared,” but she added that expectations had become very high. Reuters
Foxconn said Thursday it’s teaming up with Intel to build and roll out new AI infrastructure. That includes servers, chips, cooling, and networking gear for artificial-intelligence setups. According to both companies, the partnership will cover Intel Xeon chips, AI accelerators, high-speed links, and systems for use in data centers, smart factories, smart cities, and robots.
Foxconn Chairman and CEO Young Liu said, “Our collaboration with Intel will combine the strengths of both companies.” There’s no word on financial terms. The pair also didn’t give customer names or a timeline to launch. Investing.com
Intel’s miss stood out early as chip traders looked for hard results instead of more guidance. The stock’s comeback trade has hinged on AI and U.S. fabs, but shares got hit as rival chipmakers lowered their outlooks, with even the Foxconn agreement failing to shift sentiment.
Broadcom fell after its results failed to meet investor hopes for custom AI chips, weighing on other chip stocks. Matt Britzman at Hargreaves Lansdown said it’s “a classic case of very high expectations” and a market that was demanding perfection. Reuters
Chip stocks slid on Thursday, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 2.2%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09%. “How fragile sentiment can be” for names that rallied fast, said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management. Reuters
Intel’s peer group has a dual focus now. Broadcom gives a look into custom AI chips, AMD is still the go-to for server CPUs and accelerators, and Nvidia keeps driving overall AI spending trends. Unless the Foxconn deal leads to real volume, Intel doesn’t get much out of it.
Tech’s rally has tightened up room for mistakes. Intel and AMD are both up over 160% since the market’s March low, boosted by a semiconductor spike that took technology’s share of the S&P 500 to a record. Walter Todd, CIO at Greenwood Capital, called the move “driving a race car at 200 miles an hour.” Reuters
Intel leaned on its PC message again at Computex. In a company update, Intel said it showed off six thin-and-light laptops using its new Core Series 3 chips, and said more than 70 designs should land from brands like Acer, ASUS, Dell and MSI. Gary Chuang at Acer called the new models “everyday performance” laptops, with up to 19 hours of battery. MarketScreener
But here’s the catch. The Foxconn news hands Intel another AI headline, but investors still don’t get clear details on margins, timing, or demand. The bigger turnaround at Intel means more spending on chip plants. Reuters said last month Intel posted a $3.73 billion net loss and will need tens of billions more to support its contract chip-making push.
Intel’s rally could falter if AI infrastructure orders don’t show up soon, or if buyers stick with Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The stock might lose ground from its comeback. Friday’s jobs report is another risk; a strong U.S. jobs print could raise rate bets and leave investors less willing to wait for a chip turnaround.
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