The U.S. government’s bet on Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) is paying off in a big way.
The Trump administration acquired a roughly 10% stake in Intel in August 2025, purchasing 433.3 million shares at $20.47 apiece — an $8.9 billion investment made at a discount to the then-market price.
- INTC stock is climbing. See the chart and price action here.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick framed it as a strategic move to anchor American semiconductor manufacturing on domestic soil. At the time, skeptics questioned whether Washington had bought into a company on the ropes.
Thursday’s earnings report is making those critics look very wrong.
Intel shares surged roughly 15% on the back of a first-quarter beat that turned heads across Wall Street.
With the stock trading near $80 post-earnings — up approximately 290% from the government’s $20.47 entry — Uncle Sam is sitting on an unrealized gain of roughly $26.5 billion.
Wall Street Reacts
Gene Munster put Intel's results in sharp context.
“If there is ever a question regarding how early we are in AI, look at what the rising AI tide is doing to Intel, which was arguably on the ropes,” he wrote on X.
Munster noted that Intel’s revenue was down 4% in December 2025, flipped to +7% growth in March 2026, and — if the company exceeds the high end of its June quarter guidance by the same margin it just did — could print revenue growth of 24%.
$INTC stock is up 15% on earnings. If there is ever a question regrading how early we are in AI, look at what it the rising AI tide is doing to Intel, which was arguably on the ropes.Revenue in:* Dec-25 was down 4%. * Mar-26 it was up 7%. * Jun-26: If they exceed the high…
— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) April 23, 2026
Jim Cramer was characteristically blunt: “Intel is a BEAST — CPU demand off the charts,” he wrote on X.
Intel is a BEAST–cpu demand off charts
— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) April 23, 2026
Not everyone is celebrating without caveats. ZeroHedge flagged that Intel’s forward P/E has now crossed 100x, a valuation that prices in substantial execution on the AI buildout and leaves little margin for error.
INTC fwd PE just crossed 100x
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 23, 2026
Intel, a company that ended 2024 barely above $20 per share, is now a beneficiary of the same AI infrastructure wave lifting Nvidia and the hyperscalers.
For the Trump administration, the Intel trade — whatever one thinks of government equity stakes — is currently one of Washington’s best-performing investments.
INTC Price Action: Intel stock jumped 19.79% to hit $80 in after-hours trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
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