Intel’s All-Time Premarket High Isn’t Just an Apple Win — It’s TSMC’s First Real US Competitor in Years

By: Ethan Gallagher

Let’s cut the fluff. The 7% premarket jump for Intel that hit $129.84 isn’t some random market fluke. For years, people wrote off Intel’s foundry ambitions as dead on arrival, lagging years behind TSMC on leading nodes. Apple dipped 1.1% in premarket trade on the news, while AMD edged up 1%. Anyone who bet against Intel after last August’s government stake is now eating their words.

Official confirmed details are thin, but the numbers check out.

The Wall Street Journal first reported preliminary Apple-Intel talks back in May, after 12+ months of behind-the-scenes negotiations. The US government took a 10% stake in Intel last August when it was valued at ~$100B, committing $10B to factory expansion. Neither Apple nor Intel have formally confirmed the partnership as of press time. Intel’s 18A node entered initial production earlier this week, per the company’s official update. Intel is now worth over $600B, making the government’s stake worth more than $60B.

The unspoken part is why Apple is willing to bet on Intel after ditching its chips for Macs. TSMC’s leading edge lines are fully booked out by Nvidia, AMD, and other AI chip players for the next two years. Apple can’t afford to have iPhone or Mac chip production delayed by AI demand squeezing capacity. Adding Intel as a second source cuts that risk overnight, while giving Intel the high-volume, consistent customer it needed to validate its foundry business.

(SeaPRwire) –   Trump says Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build chips in America.

He also said Nvidia & Elon are working with Intel, and that the U.S. took a 10% stake in Intel when it was worth around $100B. Intel is now worth over $600B, making America stake worth over $60B pic.twitter.com/mtgfchbR0H

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) June 18, 2026

Nvidia and Musk’s Terrafab already have deals with Intel, so this isn’t a one-off win.

TSMC no longer holds unchallenged power over leading-edge chip supply for US tech giants. The US domestic semiconductor supply chain is a functional, competitive alternative that will shift global foundry pricing and capacity allocations permanently.

Author bio: Ethan Gallagher, a Silicon Valley hardware architect and infrastructure strategist with 14 years of experience working across semiconductor design and supply chain planning for top tech firms.