Intel just had the kind of day that makes bag holders exhale. Shares of the chipmaker climbed approximately 8.5% in early June, powered by a reported contract with Alphabet to manufacture 3 million custom chips. The move was part of a wider semiconductor rally that pulled the entire sector out of a rough patch.
Micron joined the party too, with shares gaining over 9% in the same session as AI-driven memory demand continued to surge. The Nasdaq Composite, which had dropped 4.2% in a brutal selloff earlier in the month, bounced back 1.71%.
What’s driving the Intel comeback
The stock has reportedly posted 225%-plus year-to-date gains in 2026, building on an already impressive 84% surge in 2025.
The Alphabet deal validates Intel’s foundry business at a moment when the company needs external customers to prove that its IDM 2.0 strategy, the ambitious plan to reclaim manufacturing leadership from TSMC, is more than a PowerPoint dream.
