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Intel led the Nasdaq-100 with a 23% achieve in August 2025, pushed by a singular authorities funding.
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The Trump administration acquired 9.9% of Intel for $8.9 billion, changing CHIPS Act grants into fairness.
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The inventory stays down 34.9% over the previous two years, regardless of authorities backing.
The Nasdaq-100 market index had a reasonably common month in August 2025. The index rating rose 0.9%, lagging behind the rival S&P 500‘s 1.9% achieve.
However just a few of the 101 shares on the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index pulled their weight and extra. Above all, microchip maker Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) posted an index-leading 23% return. The rationale for Intel’s huge achieve was fairly uncommon.
The Trump administration gave Intel a serving to hand on Aug. 23, organising an $8.9 billion funding in Intel’s inventory. The U.S. authorities is now a big Intel investor, proudly owning 9.9% of the corporate’s shares. They had been purchased at $20.47 per share, roughly 18% beneath the market worth on the day of the announcement.
The deal didn’t embody rights to board seats or particular authorities entry to Intel’s executives. It did embody the choice to purchase one other 5% stake via warrants, however provided that Intel loses possession of its chip manufacturing enterprise throughout the subsequent 5 years. Furthermore, a lot of the financing is a part of earlier authorities agreements, such because the CHIPS Act and the Safe Enclave program. The funds had been merely accelerated.
How the federal government acquired these shares with out seen dilution stays unexplained practically three weeks later. How did the federal government construct a 9.9% stake with out diluting current shareholders or buying on the open market? I do not know, but it surely occurred — in some way.
Intel’s inventory did not skyrocket when the federal government deal was formally introduced. As a substitute, it rose slowly because the sudden and sometimes contradictory particulars leaked out over a number of weeks.
The surge appears spectacular within the brief time period, however loses energy if you zoom out a bit. Buyers do not see this authorities deal as a game-changer. Intel’s inventory dropped 11.6% in July resulting from an underwhelming earnings report, so it is up solely 8.7% throughout July and August. It is also down 34.9% in two years, as of this writing on Sept. 11.
Before you purchase inventory in Intel, contemplate this:
The Motley Idiot Inventory Advisor analyst crew simply recognized what they consider are the 10 greatest shares for traders to purchase now… and Intel wasn’t one in every of them. The ten shares that made the lower might produce monster returns within the coming years.
