Intel’s post-earnings surge has sharply increased the value of the U.S. government’s stake, leaving it with a substantial unrealized gain.
Shares of Intel (INTC) jumped more than 22% in premarket trading Friday after the company delivered stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, pushing the government’s paper profit to roughly $26.5 billion.
The stake originates from an August deal in which $8.9 billion in CHIPS Act and Secure Enclave funding was converted into 433.3 million shares at $20.47 each, giving the government about a 9.9% ownership position. With the stock trading near $81.80, the holding is now valued at approximately $35.4 billion—nearly three times its initial value.
The government also holds warrants to purchase an additional 5% stake at $20 per share, which are now well in the money following the rally.
Intel’s strong performance was driven by a solid earnings beat. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, exceeding expectations of $12.4 billion and marking a 7% year-over-year increase. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.29 per share, far above projections for a slight loss.
The Data Center and AI segment led growth, rising 22% to $5.1 billion as demand for AI infrastructure and Xeon processors continues to accelerate.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan pointed to a growing shift toward inference and agentic AI workloads, saying the trend is driving increased demand for Intel’s CPU offerings.
For the second quarter, Intel expects revenue to come in between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion.
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