Intel Shares Soar to Highest Since 2000 on Turnaround Optimism

Intel Corp. shares leaped to their highest intraday level since the dot-com era on Friday as optimism that the chipmaker’s turnaround plan is working continues to grow.

The stock rose as much as 1.5% to $69.55, topping a peak it hit on Jan. 24, 2020. The shares are up 90% this year, after soaring 84% in 2025. Intel is now roughly 8% from its all-time closing high of $74.88, established on Aug. 31, 2000.

The chipmaker is in the midst of a multiyear effort to restore its technological leadership after years of ceding market share to rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Mounting losses from heavy spending on new factories amid declining revenue contributed to a selloff that sent Intel shares down 60% in 2024.

The improving sentiment follows several key developments. In early April, Intel agreed to pay $14.2 billion to buy back half of a plant in Ireland from Apollo Global Management, which was seen as a sign of progress in its turnaround efforts. Subsequently, Intel said it would join Elon Musk’s Terafab project to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc., SpaceX and xAI. That news followed a commitment from Alphabet Inc.’s Google to use future generations of Intel’s Xeon processors in data centers.

“There’s a lot of near term catalysts,” said Ryuta Makino, research analyst at Gabelli Funds. “Intel is very attractive.” He added that he’s “pretty confident” the company will announce an external customer for the foundry business this year, echoing Wall Street pros who have speculated Intel could work with the likes of Apple Inc. or Nvidia Corp., the leader in AI chips, which last year invested in the chipmaker.