Intel plans $15bn share sale as turnaround sends stock soaring

Intel is planning to raise $15bn through a share sale as it seeks to finance the expensive expansion of its chip contract manufacturing business, taking advantage of a sharp rise in its stock price driven by hopes of a turnaround.

The company, once a dominant force in the global semiconductor industry, is investing heavily in new manufacturing facilities and advanced packaging technology as it attempts to compete with contract chipmaking leaders including TSMC.

Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the plans, reported that Intel could increase the size of the offering to about $20bn. The shares could be priced at $95 or more, which would represent a discount of about 2.6% to Monday’s closing price of $97.52.

According to the report, investor demand has topped $100bn. The offering could exceed $20bn if the deal’s over-allotment option is fully exercised.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the report, while Intel could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

Intel’s shares fell by more than 4% on Monday. Despite that decline, the stock has almost tripled in value so far this year, outperforming rivals AMD and Nvidia, as well as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which has risen by nearly 75%.

The increase in Intel’s share price has led several analysts to suggest that the company is now more likely to raise equity to support its expansion plans.

“As a capital-intensive business that went a long way to wrecking ​its own balance sheet and prospects by focusing on financial engineering rather than physical engineering, courtesy of $82 billion of share buybacks in ‌the 2010s, ⁠it makes perfect sense for Intel to raise money, especially after a five-fold increase in the stock price since last August,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Demand linked to the growth of AI agents has also increased the need for central processing units beyond Intel’s current manufacturing capacity. In July, the chipmaker raised its capital expenditure forecast for this year from $18bn to $20bn.

Intel has also committed to producing chips in high volumes using its 14A manufacturing process in 2028. It had previously warned that the technology could be shelved if it failed to secure a major external customer.

The company’s foundry division has won Tesla as a customer for its 14A process. Expectations of another major client increased after US President Donald Trump said Apple would produce processors with Intel, although neither Apple nor Intel confirmed the claim.

Last month, Intel announced a €5bn ($5.77bn) investment to upgrade and expand its chip manufacturing operations in Ireland. The spending represents more than 25% of the company’s planned capital expenditure for 2026.

As part of the proposed share sale, Intel intends to give underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to a further $2.25bn of shares. Any additional stock would be sold at the offer price, less applicable discounts.

JPMorgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets have been appointed as joint book-running managers for the offering.