Intel (INTC): Why Does the Company's Stock Perform Differently from the Industry Trend?

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Intel has not seen growth as spectacular as the rest of the tech industry during the AI boom. Instead, it has seen a steep decline as the company failed to capitalise on AI and a shift to more efficiency-focused mobile computers. However, during the past year, Intel surged 126% but then pulled back 16%, even with investors holding optimistic outlooks for the industry next year, with other tech companies still growing.

This is because the company is tied closely with US government interests, as it is still the only chip company that manufactures domestically. After the government invested in the company, refreshed strategies for future company recovery, and an aggressive push into the foundry industry, the company rallied even as investors started to become sceptical towards the highly lucrative AI sector. However, its CEO is facing scrutiny from the Trump administration, investors feeling that the surge has already peaked has caused the stock to crash recently and failure to secure a deal with Apple has hurt investor confidence in Intel’s execution capabilities.

The next main event is CES 2026, where Intel is expected to release its Panther Lake CPUs. Should the release be successful, then Intel will be one step closer to a full recovery.