New York, February 28, 2026, 12:07 (EST) — The session has wrapped up.
Intel (INTC.O) closed out Friday at $45.61, gaining 0.33%. In after-hours trading, the stock slipped 0.48% to $45.39. That followed a 3.03% drop on Thursday. 1
The chip sector’s setup is in focus as month-end approaches, with investors juggling AI disruption, tariffs, and uncertainty over U.S. interest rates. “There are still some cracks out there,” Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, said after a hotter Producer Price Index report dulled hopes for rapid rate cuts. 2
Intel is facing more heat in the CPU space, with rivals making bigger moves. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told analysts, “We love CPUs as well as GPUs,” nodding to the graphics chips that power much of today’s AI tech. He also floated the idea that, “if Nvidia becomes one of the largest CPU makers in the world,” it wouldn’t catch him off guard. 3
ASML says its next-gen High-NA EUV machines—those high numerical aperture lithography tools using short-wavelength light for printing ever-smaller chip circuits—are now ready for high-volume manufacturing. CTO Marco Pieters told Reuters the tools have already run through 500,000 silicon wafers, with uptime currently hovering around 80%. Still, full-scale integration into production lines will likely take another two to three years. 4
Investors know this timeline well — it commands attention, and nerves. Sure, faster patterning trims steps, reduces costs, and bumps up yields. But don’t expect it to move the needle for next quarter’s results. Meanwhile, capex pressures stick around.
Intel’s most recent earnings run made the short-term crunch obvious. In January, CFO David Zinsner told investors factories were full, but said supplies would hit bottom in the first quarter and start recovering in the second. TD Cowen analysts pointed out that the stock’s previous surge was fueled more by “the dream” than by anything immediate in the numbers. 5
Intel stock now finds itself caught between execution and whatever the tape throws its way. If risk appetite dries up, moves in yields and sweeping tech sentiment can easily drown out any chip-focused news.
There’s a risk on the table too: Intel’s competitors could be the first to capitalize on the new tool cycle, leaving Intel stuck in qualification and process ramp-up. Any slip-ups here — or continued market share losses in servers and accelerators — and investors might drag the stock back to “show me” territory.
Looking ahead, there’s one immediate event on the radar: Intel is slated to present at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 4, with the session kicking off at 8:30 a.m. PST, per the company’s investor relations site. 6
Next up for rate-sensitive tech: the Federal Reserve policy meeting set for March 17-18. If there’s any more movement in rate cut bets, semiconductors—Intel among them—will feel it directly in their valuations. 7
