Apple in talks to add Intel as US chip supplier, reports say
Update: Intel shares reached yet another all-time high on Friday, fueled by another report, this time from the Wall Street Journal, that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary deal for the iPhone maker to source processor chips from Intel’s U.S. factories, including in Arizona. On Friday, Intel shares soared to a new high of $130.57 before closing at $124.92, a gain of some 14%.
Original story: Intel Corp. shares saw huge gains and reached a new high on Tuesday, based on a report that the semiconductor maker, along with Samsung, were in talks to possibly add tech giant Apple Inc. as a major customer for its U.S. chip factories, including in Arizona.
However, Barron’s also cited notes published Tuesday from a pair of industry analysts who said that the discussions were beyond the exploratory phase.
Samsung had previously been mentioned as a potential partner for Apple, which already has a major contract in place with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce chips for the iPhone and other applications at TSMC’s north Phoenix chip campus.
In February, Apple reiterated plans to buy more than 100 million computer chips from TSMC in Arizona by the end of the year. Apple committed to sourcing chips from TSMC Arizona back in 2022. TSMC, which has its main semiconductor fabs in Taiwan, is the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer.
Intel shares reach another new high
Intel shares shot up in early trading Tuesday when the Bloomberg story was published, and reached a new all-time high of $110.48 before ending the session at $108.15, gaining $12.37, or 13%, in heavy trading.
Intel has some 9,600 employees in Arizona, mainly at its Chandler chip fabs, or factories, and has several other semiconductor facilities spread around the country. It ranks as No. 2 on the Business Journal’s list of the state’s largest manufacturers, and scoring a deal with Apple could quickly boost its workforce numbers as it ramps up production at its newest East Valley fab.
After languishing in all of 2025, Intel shares got their biggest boost of the year in April when its Q1 financial results blew past Wall Street expectations. What’s more, CEO Lip-Bu Tan gave an upbeat outlook for the rest of the year as the company makes signing new foundry customers as its No. 1 goal.
Earlier this year, Intel also announced a partnership with Elon Musk to build out a large chip production facility in Texas, known as TeraFab.