Will Apple deliver Intel its next lifeline? Here's why analysts think a deal would make sense.

By Britney Nguyen

The chip maker has reportedly asked Apple for an investment as it attempts to save its faltering business with a slew of multibillion-dollar deals

Intel's stock ended the day on Wednesday up 6.4%.

Intel Corp. has made strides toward saving its faltering business with the backing of some high-profile investors - and it's reportedly looking to another tech giant for its next lifeline.

The chip pioneer (INTC) has asked Apple Inc. (AAPL) for an investment, and the two companies have discussed working together closely, Bloomberg News reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Intel and Apple are reportedly still in the early stages of talks, and it's possible no agreement comes out of it, the people said.

Intel declined to comment, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.

Intel's stock was up 6.4% at the market close on Wednesday shortly after the news, with gains building late in the session. The shares continued climbing almost 2% in after-hours trading, and are up 27% on the month.

"Intel has already received support from the U.S. government and Nvidia, and by adding Apple, it can establish its future as the key provider of semi fabrication in the U.S.," D.A. Davidson head of technology research Gil Luria told MarketWatch.

See more: Buy Intel's stock after the Nvidia bump? The question is perplexing Wall Street.

Just last week, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) announced that it will make a $5 billion investment in Intel's stock, and Intel will design and manufacture chips with Nvidia as part of the deal. Intel's stock gained 23% on the news - its largest one-day gain since October 1987, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The collaboration with Nvidia was the latest boost for Intel and its investors following an announcement in August that the company had agreed to let the U.S. government take a 10% stake in it.

"Before the U.S. got involved, Intel didn't have any anchor customers for its 14A technology, which put the future of the company in doubt," Luria said in emailed comments. "Now Intel has Nvidia lined up, and if it added Apple, would have the two biggest consumers of semi fabrication lined up to support its U.S. production."

Apple currently works with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TW:2330) on its most advanced chips.

Brian Mulberry, senior portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, said Apple could benefit "from onshoring production of components that would avoid tariffs." He also noted that Intel and Apple have a history of working together before Apple starting bringing its chip production in-house in 2020.

"Where I struggle is the fact that Intel has not been able to keep up with the needs of Apple PC in the past," Mulberry said in emailed comments. While he said a partnership between the two companies could be the product of "good will," he is skeptical for now.

After Intel's partnership with Nvidia was announced, Benchmark analysts said Nvidia could potentially become a manufacturing customer for Intel, which said in a 10-Q filing in July that it was focused on the next-generation 14A process node, but that if it couldn't find "a significant external customer and meet important customer milestones" for it, "we face the prospect that it will not be economical to develop and manufacture Intel 14A and successor leading-edge nodes on a go-forward basis."

Hendi Susanto, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, told MarketWatch that it's crucial for Intel to secure customers and design commitments for the 14A process node, "not only to prove its ability to advance its technology roadmap, but also to attract major foundry clients and build the manufacturing scale needed to reach economic viability."

"Securing Apple as an investor and, hopefully, a major customer would mark a significant breakthrough," Susanto said in emailed comments.

Wall Street noted that the partnership with Nvidia is mostly product-focused for now, and doesn't involve Intel's foundry business, which manufactures chips.

The Benchmark analysts also said at the time that they expect Intel to receive additional investments from peers, as the collaboration with Nvidia was likely the result of months of discussion. Bloomberg reported that Intel has sought potential investments and partnerships with other companies.

Meanwhile, Apple has struggled recently with its image as a laggard in the artificial-intelligence race. The company has also faced criticism from the Trump administration over the fact that most of its production takes place overseas, and it has been under pressure from the president to move more of it stateside.

While Intel would get much-needed cash for its foundry through a partnership with Apple, "Apple on the other hand is likely interested in Intel Foundry as a secondary source to manufacture its chips," Ryuta Makino, a research analyst at Gabelli Funds, told MarketWatch.

Makino said in emailed comments that he doesn't see Apple going to Intel for its x86-based products, and any investment would likely go toward Intel Foundry.

"Additionally, this move can be seen as political, where Apple made a big commitment to invest in U.S. manufacturing," Makino said, adding that "investing in Intel can be seen as investing into the U.S. and gaining further approval from the U.S. government."

Intel likely approached Apple for an investment, Makino said, because the iPhone maker "is a large volume customer for semiconductor manufacturing which can help" Intel Foundry Services. And having Nvidia and Apple as investors "can signal significant confidence in your struggling business," he added.

-Britney Nguyen

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09-24-25 1759ET