If anyone on the market thought that Apple’s split from Intel in 2020 was final, today’s revelations from Truth Social confirm those assumptions.
Is it a grand return to the past or a geopolitical checkmate?
For fifteen years Intel powered MacBooks until the Cupertino team switched to proprietary M-series chips produced by Taiwanese TSMC.
That switch gave Apple a huge performance jump, while Intel suffered a painful lesson in humility and reputational loss. Now, however, Washington ruthlessly deals the cards at the tech table, forcing a historic return to roots.
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Apple confirmed a partnership with Intel for designing and manufacturing chips in the USA. This is very important, as the market is natively located in Asia.
For Apple, this is a great way to diversify its production base and become independent from the TSMC giant. It is worth adding that Donald Trump did not specify which Intel chips will be produced for Apple.
He did, however, note that this is his last effort to help Intel. The US government already owns 10% of Intel, which eight months ago was valued at over 50 billion USD.
Trump, who last year harshly criticized the company and demanded the resignation of Lip-Bu Tan for his ties to China, today celebrates the triumph of his pressure strategy. The president himself publicly regretted not demanding a larger share package. After earlier successful attempts to free the government company from Nvidia and Tesla, it was time to attract the biggest player in the consumer electronics segment.
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TSMC is struggling, while Nvidia and AMD clear warehouses
Why is Apple choosing such a radical step right now, when its current processors are getting great reviews? The answer lies in a boom that has been going on for over four years.
The AI mania is causing Taiwanese giant TSMC factories to simply break apart.
Nvidia and AMD reserve every available throughput there, paying huge sums to satisfy the massive global appetite for powerful graphics accelerators and compute units for data centers.
In this new reality, Apple, despite its privileged position and huge budget, has begun to feel the pressure of limited production capacity in Taiwan. Diversifying the base becomes a survival issue for Tim Cook and his successor John Ternus. The Intel contract gives the Cupertino giant a stable and independent source of advanced technology supplies directly on American soil.
Although Donald Trump did not specify which exact chips will be taken from domestic production lines, the market already knows this is a turning point. Securing an alternative supply source will let Apple sleep peacefully while other players fight for available throughput in Asia.
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Intel catches the wind and aims for a leading position
Supporting Intel by the US administration brings tangible benefits to investors. For the Santa Clara conglomerate, this is a century‑old deal that may finally silence critics doubting the success of the company’s restructuring plan.
Acquiring such a demanding client guarantees steady demand and allows realistically catching up with the previously elusive TSMC. It is another trade success after Intel secured Tesla as its first customer for the 14A technology process in April, whose mass production is set to start in 2029.
Wall Street reacted with pure euphoria. Intel’s stock rose 10.52% on Thursday, reaching 133.92 USD.
It is the cherry on top, considering that the company’s shares have already risen almost threefold since the beginning of the year.
Chart. Intel stock price
Source: TradingView.
Meanwhile, Apple shares recorded a modest increase of 0.7%, standing at 298.01 USD.
Chart. Apple stock price
Source: TradingView.
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Source: Reuters.
