The U.S. government holds an unrealized gain of about $26.5 billion on its stake in Intel (INTC) after shares of the chipmaker jumped more than 22% in premarket trading Friday, following a stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings report.
The position stems from an August deal in which the Trump administration converted $8.9 billion in CHIPS Act grants and Secure Enclave funding into 433.3 million shares of Intel at a price of $20.47 each, giving it a roughly 9.9% stake. With Intel trading near $81.80 in premarket trading Friday, the stake is now valued at about $35.4 billion, nearly tripling in less than a year.
The government also holds warrants to buy an additional 5 percent stake at $20 per share, options that are now highly valued.
Intel’s recovery was driven by a sharp rise in profits. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7% year over year and above Wall Street expectations of $12.4 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.29, far exceeding the consensus estimate of a loss of $0.01.
Growth was driven by Intel’s data center and AI segment, which grew 22% to $5.1 billion, as demand for Xeon processors accelerates alongside the broader buildout of AI infrastructure.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted a shift in AI computing toward inference and agent workloads, saying the trend “significantly increases the need for Intel processors.”
Intel reported revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion for the second quarter.
