Key Highlights

  • Intel rose 7.67% to $108.80 on Sept. 17, 2026, after reports emerged that SK Hynix was discussing leasing part of Intel's Ohio site or forming a joint venture.
  • SK Hynix said it was exploring Options but that no plans were confirmed; Intel shares gained another 12.1% on Sept. 21 on AI-driven CPU demand.
  • Q2 Revenue rose 25% to $16.1 billion, and Intel raised $20 billion through a stock sale priced at $95 per share in August.
  • Intel's Market Value stands at roughly $650 billion, and the average Wall Street price target of $117.56 already sits below where the stock trades after the rally.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares jumped 7.67% to close at $108.80 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, after reports emerged that South Korean memory giant SK Hynix was in talks with the company about making memory chips in the United States. The options under discussion included SK Hynix leasing part of Intel's unfinished "Ohio One" Manufacturing complex or forming a joint venture that could involve major cloud providers. The shares rose as much as 9% during the session.

The report hit a nerve because it offers a possible answer to one of Intel's most expensive problems: a large Ohio site that was slowed in 2025 and needs outside Volume to justify the investment. It also landed amid an acute shortage of memory chips, which lifted SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) the same day.

The talks remain unconfirmed. SK Hynix said it was exploring various options to strengthen its global competitiveness but that no plans had been confirmed, and Intel had not publicly commented. Even so, the rally did not stop there. Intel shares surged a further 12.1% on Sept. 21 on renewed AI-driven Demand for server processors and closed at $123.86 on Sept. 22.

What the SK Hynix Report Actually Said

The exact type of memory that would be produced was not confirmed, and the discussions were described as early and non-binding, with no agreed structure or financial terms. The idea behind them is simple. Intel has built far more leading-edge factory capacity than its own products can fill, and SK Hynix needs U.S. production capacity as memory demand from AI data centers outstrips supply.

SK Hynix responded on Sept. 18, saying it was "exploring various options to strengthen its global competitiveness" while denying that any plans had been confirmed. Intel shares dipped in afternoon trading that Friday before closing nearly flat at $108.60. Separately, SK Hynix's Solidigm unit was reported to be weighing a NAND flash memory factory in the U.S., with upstate New York cited as a possible location.

A Memory Shortage Sets the Backdrop

The talks gained weight from comments by Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan about how tight memory Supply has become. Tan said memory prices had risen "5, 6, or 7 times" and that production capacity remained very limited, with some customer projects being delayed. On Sept. 17, SK Hynix rose 4.47%, Samsung 2.97% and Micron about 5.5%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index gained 3.14%.

The next leg of Intel's rally came from processor demand. On Sept. 21, Meta (NASDAQ:META)'s Muse AI assistant topped Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s U.S. App Store, and investors bet that persistent AI agents will need more server CPUs alongside GPUs. Tan also noted that Intel can meet only about half of current CPU demand.

Inside Intel's Second-Quarter Results

Intel's latest reported results, released July 23, 2026, showed a Business recovering quickly. Second-quarter revenue rose 25% to $16.1 billion, which Tan called Intel's strongest revenue growth in more than 15 years. GAAP gross Margin improved to 40.4% and non-GAAP gross margin to 41.8%, gains of roughly 12 to 13 percentage points from a year earlier. Intel reported a GAAP loss of $2.16 per share but non-GAAP Earnings of $0.42 per share.

By segment, Client Computing and Physical AI revenue rose 13% to $8.9 billion, Data Center and AI revenue jumped 59% to $6.3 billion, and Intel Foundry revenue grew 31% to $5.8 billion. For the third quarter, Intel guided to revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, a non-GAAP gross margin of about 42% and non-GAAP earnings of about $0.38 per share.

The $20 Billion Stock Sale and Intel's Competitive Standing

Intel has also been raising Capital to fund its manufacturing push. On Aug. 10, it announced a proposed $15 billion common stock offering. The next day it upsized and priced the deal at $20 billion, selling 210,526,315 shares at $95 each, with underwriters given a 30-day option to buy up to 31,578,947 more shares. Intel said the proceeds would go to general corporate purposes, which could include capital expenditures and working capital.

The offering diluted existing shareholders, and the stock fell 4.06% on Aug. 10. But it also strengthened Intel's Balance Sheet at a time when building and equipping fabs requires tens of billions of dollars. Since then, the shares have climbed about 30% above the $95 offering price.

Intel now carries a market value of roughly $650 billion. That is still well behind AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), which crossed $1 trillion on Sept. 21. In foundry services, Intel competes with TSMC (NYSE:TSM), which dominates leading-edge contract manufacturing, and with Samsung. A memory Partnership with SK Hynix would not make Intel a memory maker, but it could turn idle or delayed capacity into a revenue-generating asset and add another anchor tenant to its U.S. manufacturing footprint.

Analysts remain cautious after the run. Wall Street's consensus rating is Hold, based on seven Buy, 23 Hold and two Sell ratings over the past three months, with an average price target of $117.56. The shares already trade above that level.

Risks Investors Are Weighing

Several risks sit behind the rally:

  • No deal yet: SK Hynix has confirmed only that it is exploring options, and the talks could produce a smaller arrangement or none at all.
  • Ohio timing and cost: Production at Ohio has been pushed out to 2030, and the site has consumed capital without generating returns.
  • Dilution and valuation: The $20 billion offering added more than 210 million shares, and the stock has run ahead of the average analyst target.
  • Supply constraints: Being unable to meet CPU demand can cost market share, and rising memory costs could squeeze PC and server customers.
  • Execution: Intel still has to prove that its advanced process nodes can win large external foundry customers.

The Fiscal Third-Quarter Catalysts Ahead

The key near-term catalyst is any formal confirmation, term sheet or denial from Intel or SK Hynix on the Ohio talks, along with news on Solidigm's separate U.S. NAND plans. Intel's third-quarter results, which the company typically reports in late October, will test its guidance of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion in revenue.

Investors will also want updates on how quickly Intel can add CPU supply, on external foundry customers and on the Ohio construction timeline. Until then, much of the recent gain rests on reports and demand expectations rather than signed agreements.