Nothing moves markets quite like a presidential seal of approval. Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU) climbed Friday as a broader semiconductor rally took hold following enthusiastic praise from President Donald Trump for Intel Corp. (INTC) and its chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan.
Trump took to Truth Social after a White House meeting to announce he had "just finished a great meeting with the very successful Intel CEO, Lip-Bu Tan." He described the U.S. government's investment as profitable for taxpayers and positioned it as part of a broader effort to restore leading-edge chip manufacturing domestically.
Intel shares surged nearly 9%, dragging the rest of the sector higher with it. Broadcom climbed almost 3%, Micron gained more than 3%, and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) edged up as well.
For context, the U.S. government first took a position in Intel last August through an $8.9 billion investment tied to unpaid CHIPS Act grants and manufacturing awards. Trump's comments Friday suggested that bet is looking pretty good.
AI Demand Driving Long-Term Value
Analysts at Bank of America Securities and Goldman Sachs say Broadcom remains well-positioned to unlock long-term value despite a recent pullback. The company is sitting on a $73 billion AI backlog, benefiting from expanding customer adoption, and management believes $50–$100 billion in AI sales is achievable in fiscal 2026–2027.
Analysts also highlighted growing exposure to Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Google's TPU deployments and large orders from Anthropic. Broadcom crossed the trillion-dollar market-cap mark in December 2024, driven largely by AI demand.
Over at Micron, JP Morgan analyst Harlan Sur pointed to an AI-driven memory shortage, particularly in DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, that should keep demand ahead of supply beyond 2026. That dynamic supports pricing power, which is music to any chip manufacturer's ears.
After meetings with management, Sur highlighted constrained clean-room capacity, strong GPU- and XPU-linked demand from customers such as Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), and expectations for nearly 60% DRAM price growth in 2026. Those are the kinds of numbers that get investors excited.
Record Chip Sales Reinforce Bullish Outlook
The industry data backs up the optimism. The Semiconductor Industry Association reported global semiconductor sales rose 29.8% year over year to a record $75.3 billion in November, up 3.5% from October alone. SIA CEO John Neuffer said, "Looking ahead, the global chip market is projected to grow substantially in 2026, reaching nearly $1 trillion in annual sales."
Price Action: Intel shares were up 7.66% at $44.26 at the time of publication on Friday, trading near their 52-week high of $44.57. Shares of Broadcom gained 3.80%, while Micron Technology advanced 3.69%.
