Intel shares jump 9% after buying back Ireland chip fab in sign of renewed strength

The semiconductor company sold the 49% stake in its Ireland manufacturing facility to buyout firm Apollo Global Management in 2024 for $11.2 billion.

“Our 2024 agreement was the right structure at the right time and provided Intel with meaningful flexibility, enabling us to accelerate critical initiatives,” Intel CFO David Zinser said in a press release. “Today, we have a stronger balance sheet, improved financial discipline and an evolved business strategy.”

The move is a sign that the company is back on solid footing with renewed confidence.

When Intel sold its stake in 2024, it was a very different time for the U.S.-chipmaker. The company was in the midst of a $100 billion investment to expand chipmaking in the U.S., including a massive chip fabrication plant, or fab, that opened in Arizona last year.

After years of falling behind chipmaking leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, former CEO Pat Gelsinger went all-in on Intel’s foundry ambitions in the U.S. He was ousted at the end of 2024, but Intel’s Arizona chip factory project remained on track.

Intel said the repurchase agreement “underpinned by the growing and essential role CPUs play in the era of AI.”

Intel now manufactures chips at its most advanced node, 18A, in Arizona but has yet to secure a major external customer. For now, Intel is its own primary customer, making its Core Ultra series 3 PC processor at that plant.