Stock in Intel (INTC, Financial) rose 9.25% on Friday following reports another industry giant could buy the chipmaker. Pedal, a semiconductor analyst, said multiple indicators had converged at Mar-a-Lago: jet movements linking Qualcomm (QCOM, Financial) and GlobalFoundries (GFS, Financial), among others including Elon Musk. There were rumors swirling about the future of the company following Intel CEO Paul Gelsinger's resignation this week.
The tech giant continues to be challenged with a loss of 69% since the April 2021 stock decline. Its foundry division, struggling to win customers, has lagged as cloud companies migrate their business from CPUs to Nvidia and other GPUs. Although Intel will spend $26 billion in 2023, its operating cash flow has fallen to $9.7 billion from $36 billion in 2020, which has exacerbated its financial difficulty.
Intel's failure could present geopolitical risks, according to industry insiders, because it builds U.S. chip production. Intel is desperate, and a buyout might save the company.
