Intel’s share price rose sharply on Friday after the chipmaker beat market expectations in the first quarter. And the victory was not just for the chip maker, but for all of America!The stock rose 26.7% in trading on Friday, which could be its strongest one-day gain since 1987. The rally continued after the closing bell, with shares rising 20% in after-hours trading as investors reacted to signs of continued change driven by artificial intelligence.Intel reported revenue of $13.58 billion (€11.6 billion) for the quarter, above the $12.3 billion (€10.5 billion) forecast and up 7.2% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.29, beating expectations by $0.01.The main contributor to this performance was the company’s data center and AI (DCAI) division, which delivered revenue of $5.05 billion (€4.2 billion), up 22.4% year-on-year and well ahead of analyst estimates of $4.41 billion (€3.77 billion). The results indicate strong demand for Intel’s Xeon 6 processors and Gaudí 3 AI accelerators, particularly among enterprise customers and cloud service providers.Chief executive Lip-Boo Tan pointed to a broader shift in the use of artificial intelligence as a key factor behind the growth. “The next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user, moving from fundamental models to inference,” he said. “This shift is significantly increasing the need for Intel’s CPU and wafer and advanced packaging offerings,” he added.The company also issued a promising outlook for the second quarter, forecasting revenue between $13.8 billion (€11.8 billion) to $14.8 billion (€12.6 billion), beating investors’ expectations of $13 billion (€11.1 billion).
But how is Washington winning?
This rally has had a direct impact on the US administration’s investment in Intel. In 2025, during a period of severe financial stress for the company, Donald Trump’s administration acquired a 9.9% stake with the aim of stabilizing the business. According to Euro News, the government invested $8.9 billion (€7.8bn) at a share price of $20.47 (€18.01), of which $5.7 billion (€5bn) came from previously approved but unpaid grants.At the time, Intel was facing billions of dollars in losses and operational challenges, raising concerns over its viability. As part of the intervention, the company canceled planned factory projects in Germany and Poland, focused on US-based manufacturing and reduced its global workforce by 25%, cutting about 25,000 jobs.After the latest surge, Intel shares now trade at $81.3 (€71.5), representing an increase of nearly 300% since the government first took the stake. The sharp rise highlights how the company’s superior financial performance has brought substantial benefits to the US administration.
