America Just Nationalized a Chipmaker—Is Your Portfolio Next?

Washington just snapped up nearly 10% of America’s most battered chipmaker—could this be the comeback stock of the decade or a Trojan horse in disguise?

Every once in a while, the market serves up a headline so shocking it forces even the most jaded traders to put down their coffee: The U.S. government is now one of Intel’s biggest shareholders. On August 25, 2025, Washington inked a deal to buy 9% of Intel outright, with warrants that could push its stake to 13.3%. That’s not a typo—Uncle Sam just became a strategic investor in one of the most storied, beaten-down tech names on the planet.

The kicker? Intel stock ripped 7% higher in a single session, erasing weeks of drift and reigniting the debate: is this a bailout for a flailing legacy player—or a national security moonshot that puts Intel back on top of the semiconductor race?

And here’s what makes this different from any “government support” headline you’ve seen before: this wasn’t a grant, a subsidy, or a quiet backroom loan. It was a direct equity deal—Washington bought stock the same way you and I do. That flips the script. Suddenly, Intel’s upside (and downside) isn’t just Wall Street’s problem—it’s America’s.

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YTD Performance Snapshot

Created with TradingView

• Current Price (as of Aug 25): $24.55

• 1-Day Pop: +7% after deal announcement

• YTD Performance: +23% (S&P 500 +16% for comparison)

• Market Cap: ~$105B

• Deal Terms:

  • Tranche 1: 275M shares @ $20.74 = $5.7B

  • Tranche 2: 159M shares @ $20.00 = $3.2B

  • Tranche 3: 241M warrants @ $20.00 (triggered if Intel Foundry stake dips <51%)

• Total Equity: ~9.0% today; 13.3% if warrants convert

Translation: Washington just set a hard floor near $20. Anything above that is house money—for now.