SoftBank on Thursday reported profit for its fiscal first quarter that beat market expectations, driven by a huge gain on its stake in Intel, while a rise in ByteDance’s value helped its Vision Fund division.

The Japanese giant said net profit for the June quarter totaled 347.3 billion Japanese yen ($2.2 billion). That beat the 120.23 billion expected by analysts, according to LSEG estimates. However, that was a nearly 18% year-on-year decline.

SoftBank saw a 1.3 trillion yen gain on the shares it owns of U.S. chipmaker Intel. SoftBank had announced a roughly $2 billion investment in Intel last year. This helped its investment division, which is separate from the Vision Fund, book segment profit of 1.05 trillion yen. Intel shares have surged nearly 400% over the last 12 months.

The Vision Funds, which house investments spanning OpenAI to TikTok-owner ByteDance, saw a gain of $1.7 billion in value in the first quarter. That was primarily driven by a $2.2 billion increase in the value of SoftBank’s stake in Chinese firm ByteDance, which offset declines in companies like PayPay.

SoftBank’s Vision Funds segment posted a 5.4 billion yen profit compared to 451.4 billion a year ago. The company said that it saw no gain or loss from its investment in OpenAI.

This is in contrast to the previous quarter, where the company’s Vision Funds posted a nearly $20 billion gain, nearly all driven by OpenAI.

OpenAI is facing intense competition from rival Anthropic, U.S. hyperscalers like Amazon as well as a swathe of Chinese open source players. Meanwhile, enterprises are looking closer at the spending on AI.

SoftBank can adjust the valuation of private companies in its portfolio if they believe there has been a material change in the scenario. But the company has not seen any new information to justify a change in the valuation of OpenAI, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. SoftBank views the rise of more players in the sector as indicative of the growing nature of the market, the source said, adding that the competitive landscape is not of great concern to the Vision Fund team.

In June, OpenAI confidentially filed for an initial public offering. SoftBank would likely sell some of its holding in OpenAI when it goes public, but it would not be a “significant portion,” the person said.

Intel announced a $15 billion common stock offering on Monday to support skyrocketing customer demand for artificial intelligence computing power.

Shares of Intel fell 4% in morning trading.

The chipmaker highlighted physical AI, purpose-built silicon and advance packaging among the major growth opportunities and said it will use the funding to support corporate needs, including capital expenditures and working capital,

Technology giants have shelled out trillions in recent years to meet insatiable AI demand and the unrelenting infrastructure buildout to support new compute capacity.

Several megacap tech companies boosted their capital expenditures on AI demand this earnings season, with spending on track to hit $765 billion this year and $1.2 trillion in 2027, according to estimates from Goldman Sachs. Amazon gave the highest guidance among the group this reporting period, citing the memory crunch.

Last month, Intel posted its fastest revenue growth in nearly 15 years and hiked capital expenditures guidance to $20 billion, citing strong customer demand.

At the time, finance chief David Zinsner said most of the spending would support factory tooling. He told CNBC that the company is bracing for a “meaningful increase” in 2027.

Intel shares have benefitted over the last year from the AI infrastructure buildout and the U.S. government’s 10% equity stake aimed at bolstering domestic chip manufacturing. The stock has surged 175% in 2026 and quintupled in value over the last year.

The Intel announcement includes a 30-day option that would allow underwriters to buy an additional $2.25 billion in common stock.

Intel reported better-than-expected second-quarter results on Thursday, notching its fastest revenue growth rate for any quarter since 2011 and issuing guidance that topped expectations. The stock rose about 4% in extended trading.

Here’s how the chipmaker did versus LSEG consensus estimates

• Earnings per share: 42 cents, adjusted, versus 21 cents expected
• Revenue: $16.1 billion, versus $14.42 billion expected

Intel shares are up over 170% so far in 2026 as of Thursday’s close after soaring 84% last year, when the U.S. government took a 10% stake in the company as part of an effort to support U.S. chip manufacturing. However, the stock has been in a slump more recently, dropping 28% in July.

Despite the recent downturn, the company is getting a boost from the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, which is helping sales of its server processors. Intel’s 25% revenue growth was the fastest for any period in almost 15 years.

“AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute,” CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in the statement. “As we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth across our CPU franchise.”

For the current quarter, Intel said it expects adjusted earnings per share of 38 cents on revenue between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $15.1 billion and EPS of 27 cents, according to LSEG.

Intel also said it’s starting to craft long-term agreements with customers for its server CPUs, some with pricing locked in and others focused on chip volume.

It’s a move that’s becoming common, particularly in memory, as vendors try to preserve current high pricing and market power in case the AI market turns. Intel said it had reached 10 long-term agreements, and CFO David Zinsner said the company is supply constrained, with data center customers demanding more than it can produce. 

“Customers continue to signal a strong and sustainable spending environment,” Zinsner said on an earnings call with analysts.

Revenue in the company’s client computing group, which makes chips for PCs, rose 13% to $8.9 billion. It’s still Intel’s biggest unit, but the robust growth is coming from its data center business, where revenue rose 59% to $6.3 billion. Intel said it expects flat PC sales in the third quarter because of the memory shortage. 

Intel is boosting its capital expenditures, targeting a “meaningful increase” next year, as it aggressively tries to morph into a manufacturer of chips for other companies. Zinsner told CNBC’s Kristina Partsinevelos that the company’s latest manufacturing process, called 14A, is ahead of where older technologies were at the same point in the cycle. Intel said its foundry reported $5.8 billion in sales, up 31% on an annual basis. 

“I did want to give investors at least a line of sight to expect that the number will be up,” Zinsner said on the earnings call. He said…

President Donald Trump plans to claim in a Thursday night speech that newly declassified intelligence reports reveal a foreign nation’s plans to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, two White House officials told MS NOW on Monday.

Trump will be joined by officials including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, according to one of the officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss the internal plans, MS NOW reported.

Trump earlier Monday afternoon announced on Truth Social that he “will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern,” without providing further details.

Trump lost the 2020 race to President Joe Biden, but falsely claimed his defeat was due to widespread voter fraud. He continues to frequently claim that race and others were “rigged.” No credible evidence has been presented that widespread fraud affected the outcome of the 2020 contest; Trump and his allies brought dozens of court cases challenging the 2020 results in multiple states, but they were overwhelmingly rejected.

Numerous conspiracy theories persist surrounding the 2020 election, including several that allege foreign nations interfered to harm Trump’s candidacy.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Chipmakers not named Nvidia soared in the second quarter as investors widened their artificial intelligence portfolios, with Micron and Intel more than tripling in value and Advanced Micro Devices not far behind.

Those three companies gained about $2 trillion in combined market cap in the period and are now the 10th, 11th and 12th most valuable U.S. tech companies.

While AI chipmaker Nvidia remains the biggest company by market cap and continues to notch massive revenue growth, the stock only gained 15% in the second quarter. Its hyperscaler customers — Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft — showed mixed results in the period, with Meta falling by almost 2% for the worst performance in the group, and Alphabet leading the pack by gaining 24%.

“The rotation out of AI hyperscalers into AI enablers has shifted investors’ euphoria into semis, driving spectacular rallies,” wrote Barclays analyst Anshul Gupta, in a note on Tuesday.

Micron, one of three major computer memory producers, rose over 240% during the quarter, adding roughly $920 billion in market cap. Last week, the company reported that revenue in the latest quarter more than quadrupled due to skyrocketing memory prices from AI chipmakers. Micron’s gross margin, the profit left after accounting for the cost of goods sold, jumped to 84.9% in the third quarter from 39% a year earlier.

Intel, the legacy maker of central processing units (CPUs), jumped 216% in the quarter, resulting in an added $480 billion in market cap. Intel is building U.S. chip factories while simultaneously benefiting from renewed demand for CPUs as more AI moves to devices.

AMD, Intel’s rival in CPUs, added $615 billion in value after its stock price nearly tripled. AMD also makes graphics processing units, though it’s far behind Nvidia in that market.

Analysts previously said market moves during the quarter could represent a “changing of the guard in AI,” as investors pile into companies that make semiconductors complimentary to Nvidia’s chips, and bet that a massive expansion in capital expenditures for AI data centers will boost a wider range of companies.

Other parts of the AI infrastructure supply chain aside from memory and processors also boomed.

Marvell, which makes networking gear, climbed about 200%. Arm, which supplies technology and designs to other chipmakers, rose 134% in the quarter. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose 71% in the period, the fund’s best quarterly performance since it started trading in 2000.

WATCH: Chinese memory chips flooding market not a near-term threat to Micron

Intel‘s stock rose around 9% in premarket trading on Thursday, after President Donald Trump said the semiconductor company had agreed to a deal with Apple to design and build chips in the U.S.

“Stupid Presidents took our Economy for granted, and let Taiwan and others steal our Semiconductor Factories,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America.”

Intel’s stock has seen significant gains recently after struggling for years, having relinquished its dominant market position. The stock has surged 464% in the past 12 months, with the company hitting a market cap of $608.7 billion.

Intel shares were last 8.7% higher, while Apple was up 0.6% in premarket trading.

CNBC has approached Intel and Apple for comment.

This is a breaking story. Refresh for updates.

Intel has begun production of its most-advanced chip node, bringing the company one step closer to a possible deal to make some chips for Apple devices.

Intel announced it’s making the new chip node, 18A-P, at the VLSI Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Tuesday.

“This is a journey, and while we have more work ahead, we appreciate the opportunity to share the progress we are making,” Intel foundry head Naga Chandrasekaran said in a statement. Chandrasekaran called the development a “signal to Intel Foundry customers and partners that we are fully committed to leading edge process innovation over the long term.”

First announced last year, 18A-P is now in what’s known as “risk production,” an early production stage with data indicating it will meet customer requirements upon final qualification. After years of missteps and low yields, Intel touted 18A as key to a turnaround that would finally convert the company into a competitive chip manufacturer for non-Intel products.

Intel brought 18A to PC chips in January, but the company has yet to secure a major outside customer. Analysts say 18A-P may be a more likely proving point.

Intel said 18A-P can deliver 9% higher performance or use 18% less power than 18A, which the company has been making at volume at its chip plant in Arizona since December. The chip is at least 20% more heat resistant and is fully compatible with existing 18A buildouts, the company said.

“Yield rate is the number one criteria here,” said chip analyst Neil Shah of Counterpoint Research. “If they can commit to more than 90% yield rate in the first month, I think they can attract a few more customers.”

Wall Street has been anticipating a massive rebound in the business, sending Intel shares up over 200% this year after the stock soared 84% in 2025. A major catalyst for the move came in August, when the U.S. government took a 10% stake in the company, followed by Nvidia’s $5 billion investment in September.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan told CNBC in May that he expects commitments from multiple foundry customers in the second half of 2026.

Shares popped nearly 14% that month on reports that Intel reached a preliminary deal to make chips for Apple. Chip analyst Ben Bajarin told CNBC that Apple is likely to wait to make chips on 18A-P.

One big roadblock, Shah said, is that Intel primarily manufactures chips on the traditional x86 instruction sets, while custom chips from Apple, Google, Amazon and others are made on rival Arm architecture.

“Building Arm chips is something that they have not done,” Shah said. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the market leader, “has mastered that,” he said.

TSMC is expanding its own $165 billion chipmaking campus just 50 miles North of Intel’s Arizona plant.

Intel may be more likely to first secure a major customer for its leading advanced packaging technology, a lesser-known step of the chipmaking…

Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 and the start of the generative AI craze, one name has dominated the infrastructure boom: Nvidia.

While the chipmaker — and the world’s most valuable company — continues to prosper and is expected to show revenue growth of 70% this fiscal year, Wall Street has moved elsewhere, piling into businesses that were hardly visible in the initial years of the artificial intelligence buildout.

This week offered the starkest illustration yet of what MIzuho analyst Jordan Klein said could be a “changing of the guard in AI.” Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices and Intel notched gains of about 25%, while memory maker Micron jumped more than 35% and fiber-optic cable maker Corning climbed about 20%.

All four of those companies have more than doubled in value this year, with Intel leading the way, up well over 200%. Nvidia, meanwhile, is only slightly ahead of the Nasdaq in 2026, gaining 16% for the year, aided by a 9% rally this week.

In spreading the wealth to a wider swath of hardware companies, investors are clearly betting that the bull market in AI has long legs and that data centers are going to need a wider array of advanced components for years to come. Memory has been the biggest theme of late due to a global shortage that’s driven up prices and turned Micron, a 47-year-old company tucked in a sleepy corner of the semiconductor market, into one of the hottest trades over the past 12 months.

Micron blew past an $800 billion market capitalization for the first time this week, and the stock is now up over 750% in the past year. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told CNBC in March that key customers are only getting “50% to two-thirds of their requirements” because of supply issues.

The memory market is largely dominated by Micron along with Korea-based Samsung and SK Hynix, which are also both in the midst of historic rallies.

“That is what happens when a market quickly enters a material shortage condition and pricing surges higher” while expenses “rise only modestly,” Mizuho’s Klein wrote in a note to clients early in the week. “You make a lot of money being overweight historic memory upturns when new capacity cannot be added fast enough. That simple.”

Beyond memory is insatiable demand for central processing units (CPUs), which underpin everyday computers and smartphones. They had mostly become an afterthought as model developers like OpenAI and Anthropic and cloud giants Google, Microsoft and Amazon were gobbling up Nvidia’s GPUs.

Now CPUs are back in the spotlight as momentum shifts from chatbots to AI agents. Bank of America estimates the data center CPU market could more than double from $27 billion in 2025 to $60 billion in 2030.

AMD’s quarterly results this week underscored the emerging trend, as earnings, revenue and guidance sailed past estimates on strong data center growth. The company has long led the CPU charge, and CEO

Intel shares climbed 14% Tuesday, hitting a new all-time high as the chipmaker continued its historic run from April.

The jump comes on a Bloomberg report that Apple is in talks with both Intel and Samsung to produce the main processors for its devices in the U.S. The iPhone maker has had a long-time reliance on chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Intel and Samsung declined to comment on the report. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The surge follows Intel’s best month in its 55 years on the Nasdaq. The stock jumped 114% in April and pushed the market cap past $470 billion.

Several major partnerships helped fuel the rally. The U.S. semiconductor firm announced an expansion of its partnership with Google, as well as plans to join Elon Musk’s Terafab project in April.

Intel also announced it would repurchase its Fab 34 chip facility in Ireland last month for $14.2 billion.

The rise of artificial intelligence has spurred a renewed demand for Intel’s central processing units. On the company’s first-quarter earnings call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan called CPUs an “indispensable foundation of the AI era.”

The surge marks a sharp turnaround for the chipmaker, which was struggling to keep up with the AI race amid major manufacturing delays. The company is now up over 330% since the U.S. government took a 10% stake in the company last August, investing $8.9 billion.

Nvidia also helped fuel the stock’s reversal after announcing a $5 billion investment in September.

President Donald Trump praised the stock’s climb last week.

“Intel Stock continues to rise. I’m very proud of that Company in that I am responsible for making the United States of America over 30 Billion Dollars in the last 90 days on that stock alone,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“Congratulations to Intel on doing such a great job and, more importantly, congratulations to the People of the United States for making such a good investment!”

Read the full Bloomberg story here.

CNBC’s Sawdah Bhaimiya contributed to this report.