Intel shares rose by approximately 25% between September 15 and September 21, 2026, moving from $97.14 to $121.78. The growth was triggered by increased CPU demand linked to the Meta AI agent app Muse, which led the US iOS App Store charts for three days.
The rally affected the broader CPU sector. Arm Holdings shares increased by more than 13%, while AMD shares rose by 9–10%. On the same day, AMD reached a market valuation of $1 trillion for the first time. Nvidia stock remained relatively flat during this period.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated that the company is currently fulfilling only about 50% of customer CPU orders. To address the sustained demand, Intel increased its full-year capital expenditure forecast from $18 billion to $20 billion, representing an 11% rise.
Intel reported a 25% year-over-year increase in sales for the second quarter. Analysts suggest that the rise of persistent AI agents, which require continuous general-purpose computing power, is driving long-term demand for CPUs and potentially expanding the server market.
