By Anita Hamilton
Shares of chip maker Intel were stalling again Monday after their big run-up over the past month.
After rising more than 166% in 2026, with most of those gains happening over the past month or so, the stock has wobbled a bit in recent days. Investors are torn between excitement over strong earnings reports from artificial intelligence hyperscalers last week and fears of an AI bubble popping sooner rather than later.
The U.S. announced an effective 10% stake in Intel last August, making it the largest single investor in the U.S.-based chip maker. Since then, the company's shares are up more than fourfold in large part because Intel makes chips that are used in AI data centers.
It's been a bouncy few weeks for the stock. After rising 24% following a strong earnings report on April 23, shares jumped another 12% last Wednesday before falling back slightly on Thursday, then racking up another 5% in gains on Friday. The stock had a record close of $99.62 that day.
By late morning Monday, shares were trading down around 1% at $98.62.
As nice as Intel's rise is for those who've held it for a while, the current volatility isn't surprising as people weigh whether to hold out for bigger gains or take more profits now.
Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com
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May 04, 2026 12:06 ET (16:06 GMT)
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