Intel Corp. (Intel (INTC)) is drawing sharply divided views on Wall Street as speculation over a potential Apple Inc. (Apple (AAPL)) foundry partnership fuels optimism about the chipmaker's AI manufacturing ambitions.
Intel stock rose on reports that Apple could become a foundry customer, reinforcing hopes that the company is gaining traction in its effort to rebuild U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
The stock has climbed more than 263% year to date and over 530% in the past year. Shares were up more than 4% on Monday.
Gene Munster Says Intel's Rally Looks Excessive
Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster told CNBC on Friday that Intel's surge on the Apple news looks excessive and called the move crazy.
He said Apple's business with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) was about $21 billion last year and estimated that even if Intel won 10% of that business over the next several years, it would add only about 5% to Intel's revenue.
Munster said the headline helps the company look like a real tech player, but he argued the details do not yet justify the rally and said Intel is becoming a meme stock.
Matt Bryson Says Intel Has Not Matched AMD Or TSMC
Wedbush Securities analyst Matt Bryson told CNBC on Thursday that Intel has benefited from several positive developments, including talk of an Apple deal, potential new customers, improving yields, and a better version of its 18A process.
Still, he said Intel now trades at similar enterprise-value-to-sales levels as Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD (AMD)) and Taiwan Semiconductor, even though he does not believe Intel has matched either company's business quality.
Bryson said AMD has a stronger position in server chips, while Taiwan Semiconductor remains far ahead of Intel in foundry manufacturing.
He said he prefers Taiwan Semiconductor and AMD because they also benefit from stronger compute demand.
Ben Reitzes Sees A Real Foundry Opportunity
Melius Research's Ben Reitzes told CNBC on Thursday that he expects Intel to win Apple business because Apple faces capacity shortages at Taiwan Semiconductor and needs to broaden its chip sources.
He said massive Mac demand and the rise of AI agents have made the Mac's unified memory architecture more useful, creating an opportunity for Intel foundry work that could become "bigger than people think."
Reitzes said CEO Lip-Bu Tan gives the company more credibility with potential customers because of his industry relationships and chip design background.
Reitzes said Taiwan Semiconductor still sets the standard. Still, Intel's roadmap gives it a chance to close the gap if it executes, with 18A yields improving, 18AP making progress, and NVIDIA potentially using Intel's 14A process in high volume by 2029.
Intel Price Action
INTC Price Action: Intel shares were up 4.19% at $139.60 during premarket trading on Monday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high.
