Trump’s Glowing Google Review Sends Intel 11% Higher… Lip-Bu Tan Deepens White House Backing

Intel shares exploded yesterday, jumping roughly 11% after CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with Donald Trump at the White House. And yes, investors immediately took that meeting as a bullish signal.

The rally capped off a remarkable turnaround in Intel’s stock, which has now more than doubled since the U.S. government stepped in last August and took a direct stake in the chipmaker. That move alone reframed Intel from “long-suffering legacy semiconductor” to something closer to a valuable national asset.

Trump didn’t exactly downplay the moment. In a Truth Social post following the meeting, he praised Tan as “very successful” and highlighted Intel’s newest chips as being “designed, built, and packaged right here in the U.S.A.” He also expressed that Washington is happy with its investment, writing that the United States is “proud to be a Shareholder of Intel.”

Remember, back in August, the White House negotiated an $8.9 billion investment in Intel, buying roughly 433 million shares at about $20.47 each. With Intel closing Friday around $45.55, that stake has grown to roughly $19.7 billion. Not bad, even if Trump’s claim of “tens of billions” in gains is still a bit ahead of reality.

It’s quite the turnaround, considering the relationship between Trump and Tan hasn’t always been smooth. Just weeks before the government investment was announced, Trump publicly called for Tan to resign after concerns were raised by Senator Tom Cotton over Tan’s past connections to Chinese companies. Those concerns centered on national security and whether Intel could responsibly steward taxpayer-backed capital.

Intel pushed back forcefully at the time, emphasizing its commitment to U.S. national security. Tan echoed that message internally, telling employees that his decades-long global relationships were built within “the highest legal and ethical standards.” Shift to today, and the mood has flipped completely… from public skepticism to outright praise. And the stock chart reflects that sentiment.

Since taking over as CEO in March 2025, Tan has moved quickly to stabilize a company that had been drifting under prior leadership. Declining sales, missed process targets, and competitive pressure had all taken a toll. But in recent months, Intel has delivered a steady stream of progress updates, including shipping its Core Ultra Series 3 processors… the first major product built on Intel’s 18A process.

Tan has also emphasized that Intel began shipping its first sub-2-nanometer products on schedule at the end of 2025… a milestone investors have been waiting years to see.

The government backing hasn’t been Intel’s only tailwind. Nvidia and SoftBank Group have both taken multibillion-dollar stakes, lending outside validation to the turnaround story. That said, Intel still relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) for some fabrication, so the rebuild is far from finished.

Shareholders seem willing to be patient, for now. Intel shares are up more than 80% over the past year and about 20% year-to-date, but the real test will be whether new products can consistently win back market share from faster-moving rivals.

But this is quite the turnaround for a stock that roughly a year ago was down 68% from all time highs.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Intel and Google as mentioned in the article.