US chip shares rise after Trump says Apple agreed to work with Intel on domestic chip design and manufacturing

U.S. semiconductor stocks rose in premarket trading on Thursday after President Donald Trump said Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture chips domestically. The announcement, reported in market coverage, immediately shifted investor focus back to the political and industrial push for onshore chip production and the potential ripple effects for companies tied to Intel’s manufacturing and ecosystem.

According to the report, the price action was broad enough to lift shares of multiple U.S. semiconductor companies, not just Apple-linked names. That pattern suggests traders were treating the news as a sector announcement, potentially implying more demand for parts of the chip supply chain located in, or oriented toward, the United States.

For Apple, the claim centers on where its custom silicon could be made and who would participate in the process. Apple designs chips used in its iPhone, Mac, iPad, and other devices. In recent years, the company has relied on manufacturing partners to produce those designs, while internal engineering teams develop the chip architecture. The reported addition of Intel as a partner, if it moves beyond political statements to formal contracts and disclosed timelines, would represent a meaningful change in the way the company approaches chip production partners.

Intel, meanwhile, has been working for several years to expand and stabilize its foundry ambitions, including seeking customers for manufacturing services and advanced packaging. A potential Apple collaboration would be a high-profile validation for a foundry strategy aimed at attracting large, demanding clients that require not only leading-edge manufacturing capabilities but also long planning horizons for product roadmaps.

Still, the news coverage did not provide details on the scope of any partnership. It did not outline what chips would be covered, whether the work would include manufacturing only or also fabrication of components and advanced packaging, or when production would begin. It also did not disclose whether the agreement is binding or the status of negotiations, if any, beyond the statement attributed to the President.

Investors typically weigh domestic manufacturing initiatives with care because the benefits depend on execution. Building capacity and sustaining yields at scale takes time, and chip roadmaps are tightly linked to device release cycles. Without confirmed contractual terms, government incentives, and a clear schedule, market moves can fade quickly as traders look for operational evidence rather than political announcements.

Apple did not issue a specific, accompanying statement in the market report itself. The company also has not publicly clarified in the coverage how an Intel partnership would fit into its existing chip strategy, nor has it offered additional information about where new designs would be produced, or whether Apple’s current manufacturing partners would change roles as a result.