In late summer 2025, Intel’s long-slumbering stock sprang to life as Washington’s political winds shifted. President Trump, who had once criticized Intel (INTC), suddenly signaled support. The U.S. announced plans to convert unused CHIPS Act grants into a roughly 10% equity stake in Intel.
At the same time, marquee investors piled into INTC stock. Billionaire David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management disclosed an 8 million share position worth around $179 million in Q2, and others followed suit: AQR Capital boosted its holding by 210%, Citadel added 6.25 million shares, and Renaissance Technologies bought 7.22 million shares of Intel. Even SoftBank (SFTBY) announced a $2 billion investment at roughly $23 per share in mid-August. All told, Wall Street’s smartest money seems to be treating Intel as a potential comeback story, a beaten-down chip giant suddenly viewed as a turnaround play. Could it be? Let’s discuss.
Based in California, Intel is a legacy chipmaker at the center of a high-stakes turnaround. Once dominant in PCs and data centers, the company now fights to reclaim ground lost to AMD (AMD), Nvidia (NVDA), and TSMC (TSM). With fresh investments, government backing, and renewed investor interest, Intel is positioning itself as a rebound value play.
After a bumpy start to 2025, Intel’s stock has staged a strong rebound, climbing 20% in the past month, bringing its year-to-date gain to 27%. The rally has been fueled by reports of potential government interest in taking a stake, sparking renewed optimism around the chipmaker’s turnaround.
In terms of Valuation, INTC is trading at very attractive multiples. Its price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 1.04x is notably lower than the sector median of 4.45x, implying it is undervalued. Additionally, its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 2.02x compared to the sector’s 3.30x, suggesting a cheaper price relative to revenue.
Moreover, Intel offers a solid dividend of around $0.28 per share per quarter, making it a contender for value-oriented and dividend-focused investors.
Even before the official deal, big investors were acting as if Intel’s bottom had arrived. In Q2, Tepper’s Appaloosa established a new position of 8 million shares in Intel. Other hedge funds also piled in, as mentioned in the intro. In aggregate, I think these moves suggest, as Surbhi Jain writing for Bazinga wrote: “some of Wall Street’s smartest minds see Intel as a major turnaround play.”
