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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Intel Corp. shares climbed more than 2.5% Thursday, breaking above $60 for the first time in years, as renewed optimism around the chipmaker’s foundry business, a high-profile partnership with Elon Musk’s Terafab project and a fresh analyst upgrade lifted sentiment amid a broader technology sector rebound.

The stock rose as high as $61.08 during the session before settling near $60.44 midday, up $1.49 or 2.54% on strong volume exceeding 60 million shares. That extended a sharp rally that saw Intel gain more than 11% on Wednesday alone and push the shares to a new 52-week high, marking one of the strongest runs in recent memory for the longtime semiconductor giant.

Intel, once the undisputed leader in PC and server processors, has spent years battling manufacturing delays, lost market share to rivals like AMD and Nvidia, and heavy losses in its foundry operations. Under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took the helm in early 2025, the company has pursued an aggressive turnaround focused on cost discipline, workforce reductions, improved process technology execution and external foundry customers.

Recent catalysts have accelerated the narrative. On April 7-8, Intel announced it would join Elon Musk’s ambitious Terafab initiative alongside Tesla, SpaceX and xAI to help manufacture advanced AI chips, a move that signaled potential high-volume demand for Intel’s 18A and future process nodes. The partnership sent shares surging as investors bet on renewed relevance in the AI infrastructure race.

Analysts also turned more constructive. Wells Fargo raised its price target on Intel from $45 to $55 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating, citing improved financial flexibility and progress on key nodes. The upgrade helped propel the stock to intraday highs near $59.17 on Wednesday before Thursday’s continuation.

The company’s balance sheet has strengthened noticeably. In early April, Intel agreed to repurchase Apollo Global Management’s 49% stake in its Fab 34 joint venture in Ireland for $14.2 billion, regaining full control over a critical advanced manufacturing facility. The move, financed in part by a healthier cash position, underscored management’s confidence in its long-term manufacturing strategy after years of joint-venture reliance.

Intel’s foundry business remains the centerpiece of the recovery story. The company reported a backlog exceeding $15 billion and is in advanced discussions with hyperscalers including Google and Amazon for advanced packaging services on custom AI chips. CFO Dave Zinsner has highlighted the potential for billion-dollar annual revenue streams from packaging alone, which could deliver attractive 40% gross margins and serve as an earlier bridge to profitability than traditional wafer fabrication.

The Intel 18A process node — a critical bet for regaining process leadership — has shown monthly yield improvements of 7-8% in recent quarters. First 18A shipments occurred in late 2025, with high-volume production targeted for later in 2026. Microsoft and AWS are confirmed customers for custom AI silicon on 18A, providing anchor validation even as the company eyes broader external wins.

Yet challenges persist. Intel’s first-quarter 2026 guidance, issued in January, called for revenue of $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion with breakeven adjusted earnings per share and gross margins around 32-34%, reflecting ongoing supply constraints and the heavy cost of ramping new nodes. Q1 2026 results are scheduled for release April 23, with analysts watching closely for updates on yield progress, supply availability from Q2 onward and any commentary on 14A customer pipeline development.

Data Center and AI (DCAI) revenue showed sequential acceleration in late 2025, growing 15% quarter-over-quarter — the fastest in a decade for that segment. Custom AI ASIC business crossed a $1 billion annualized run rate, though it still represents a small fraction of the overall $100 billion-plus addressable market for such silicon.

The PC client group continues to face headwinds from a maturing market and competition, but Intel is positioning its Lunar Lake and Panther Lake platforms for AI PC leadership, aiming to capture a majority share of next-generation Copilot+ PCs.

Financially, Intel has made progress. Full-year 2025 operating cash flow reached $9.7 billion, and the company expects positive adjusted free cash flow in 2026 despite continued heavy capital spending. Workforce reductions of roughly 30% and disciplined capex have helped stabilize the balance sheet, with cash reserves bolstered by strategic investments and divestitures.

Wall Street’s view remains mixed. Consensus ratings hover around Hold, with average price targets in the mid-$40s to low $50s, though bullish voices see potential for $65 or higher if 18A execution succeeds and foundry external revenue materializes. The stock trades at an elevated forward multiple, reflecting hopes for a multi-year recovery rather than near-term perfection.

Geopolitical tailwinds have also helped. U.S. government support for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, including CHIPS Act incentives, aligns with Intel’s “Made in America” push and has drawn positive attention from the White House. CEO Tan’s engagement with policymakers has reinforced Intel’s role in reducing reliance on overseas foundries.

Longer term, Intel aims to return to 40%+ gross margins as yields improve and higher-value products ramp. Success in advanced packaging, custom silicon for hyperscalers and potential 14A foundry wins could transform the company from a struggling IDM into a competitive player across design and manufacturing.

For investors, the recent surge reflects growing belief that the worst of the process technology crisis may be behind Intel and that Tan’s “time and resolve” approach is yielding tangible results. Thursday’s move lacked major new company-specific news but benefited from carryover momentum, technical breakout above key resistance levels and rotation into beaten-down tech names.

Intel’s market capitalization has climbed back toward $250 billion territory in recent trading, still well below its pandemic-era peaks but reflecting renewed respect for its manufacturing scale and U.S.-based capabilities.

As the April 23 earnings report approaches, focus will center on whether supply constraints are truly easing, any acceleration in foundry customer announcements and updated full-year guidance. Execution risks remain high — yields, competition from TSMC and Samsung, and macroeconomic pressures on capex spending could all influence the trajectory.

Yet for a company once written off as permanently behind in the AI era, the combination of Terafab exposure, regained fab control, packaging momentum and analyst support has reignited the turnaround narrative. Whether Intel can convert that optimism into sustained profitability and market share gains will define its path through the remainder of 2026 and beyond.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the NFL over potential anticompetitive tactics, a government official told CNBC. The investigation stems from questions about “affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers,” the official said.

The government’s investigation comes as the NFL is looking to renegotiate media rights deals with its broadcast networks earlier than previously planned, CNBC previously reported. The league is also reportedly considering a bigger package of games with streaming giant Netflix.

In a statement to CNBC, the league called its media distribution model “the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry,” and said that more than 87% of NFL games are on free, broadcast TV.

Teams are always shown on broadcast networks in their local markets, regardless of whether games are airing on cable TV or streaming-only.

“The NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans,” the league said.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the DOJ probe.

Last week, Fox Corp., which owns a package of Sunday NFL games, and Sinclair, owner of affiliate stations, raised a similar issue with the Federal Communications Commission. The media companies had reportedly told the FCC that sports shouldn’t be allowed behind paywalls — such as exclusive streaming deals — since it means higher costs for consumers and further issues for legacy TV.

As the cost of sports media rights have skyrocketed, so, too, have the costs for consumers to watch, via increasingly piecemealed media packages that can require multiple subscriptions as well as price hikes for those services.

The NFL is currently in the midst of an 11-year, $111 billion media rights agreement that lasts through the 2033-34 season with broadcast networks CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as Disney’s ESPN and Amazon’s Prime Video.

However, the league is beginning to renegotiate its deals with broadcast partners, which would see increased revenue for the league and would eliminate an opt-out clause after the 2029-2030 season, ensuring a longer runway for the games to remain with their current broadcast partners.

All major sports leagues in the U.S. have seen a similar divvying up of games across traditional TV and streaming platforms, but the NFL, with the shortest schedule, still has the highest concentration of games on broadcast TV.

Recently the NFL began renewal talks with Paramount Skydance’s CBS for a deal that would keep a package of Sunday games on the broadcast network, CNBC previously reported. CBS currently pays approximately $2.1 billion a year, and a potential increase as a result of the renewed negotiations could see the network pay more than $3 billion in the next deal, CNBC reported.

While live sports, especially the NFL, garner the highest ratings for linear TV, the league has entered into various streaming-only agreements in an effort to reach consumers without traditional TV packages.

Amazon’s Prime Video is the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, and in the last few years Netflix has been the host of Christmas Day games. The league has also signed one-off exclusive streaming deals for certain games, including the playoffs, with the streaming counterparts of legacy media companies like NBC’s Peacock.

During a 2024 CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan event, NFL Executive Vice President of Media Distribution Hans Schroeder discussed the growing importance of streaming for the league’s future. At the time he noted the league’s Wild Card game that aired exclusively on Peacock as “the most transformative moment” in recent years.

— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.

The contract is said to be one of the biggest moments in the company’s 30-year history

A ship repair specialist with operations on the Tyne and Tees has signed a major contract with the Bangladesh Navy – its first with a foreign power.

The South Shields-based firm, which last month announced £84m of work with the UK Ministry of Defence, will now take receipt of the former HMS Enterprise, which has been decommissioned from the Royal Navy and acquired by Bangladesh. Once in dry dock in the North East, UK Docks workers will spend the rest of the year bringing it back to “operational readiness”.

The firm says the work will create around 23 new jobs – including some at its Tyneside headquarters. They will include programme oversight staff who will work with suppliers in Norway and 20 fixed term contracts for specialists from the ship repair and maritime engineering sectors.

UK Docks managing director Jonathan Wilson, said: “It was a landmark moment for the company when it earned service and maintenance contracts with the Royal Navy more than a decade ago but this is the first time we’ve worked on a vessel for a navy beyond the UK.”

The UK Docks’ senior management team flew to Bangladesh to sign the Former HMS Enterprise Regeneration Contract in Dhaka, alongside the two most senior and high-profile officers in the Bangladesh Navy. The multimillion-pound agreement will see initial work on the former HMS Enterprise taking place at a UK Docks’ Teesside facility, which has recently expanded from two to four dry docks.

Mr Wilson said: “It’s a completely new development for the company and one we’re looking forward to delivering on. It opens up a lot of possibilities for UK Docks.

“The fact that this is a capital project for the newly-formed Bangladesh Government and that it was signed by the equivalent of the first and second Sea Lords of the British Admiralty, shows its importance to Bangladesh and significance to us. Without doubt, it’s one of the biggest moments in UK Docks’ history, stretching back over 30 years of increasing growth.”

Work on the HMS Enterprise will include retrofitting advanced propulsion systems from Norwegian manufacturer Brunvoll AS, which will give it better manoeuvrability and reliability. UK Docks will also install cutting edge hydrographic and maritime technologies to give it data-gathering capabilities

Once work is complete, the 90.5m long, 3,740-tonne vessel will significantly enhance the Bangladesh Navy’s capabilities. UK Docks’ relationship with the vessel goes back a number of years when it took on a maintenance contract along with HMS Echo and HMS Protector.

Launched in 2002 and commissioned by the Royal Navy in 2003, HMS Enterprise was known for its distinguished service in survey operations, humanitarian support, and disaster‑response missions worldwide. It was decommissioned in March 2023, and sold to the Bangladesh Navy last month.