Shares of Intel (INTC 4.88%) are flying higher on Tuesday. The company's stock gained 6.6% as of 3 p.m. ET but was up as much as 10.7% earlier in the day. The gain comes as the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2% on the day.
NASDAQ: INTC
Key Data Points
What happened
Intel announced yesterday that the head of its data center and artificial intelligence (AI) operations, Justin Hotard, was leaving the company for Nokia. This comes on the heels of the embattled chipmaker losing its CEO in December.
Why it matters
Intel has struggled to keep up with rivals in the uber-lucrative data center and AI space and its stock reflects this poor performance, down roughly 50% over the last year. Even though this news brings some uncertainty, the departure of the person in charge of this crucial yet failing division was welcomed by investors looking for a turnaround.
More news
Intel stock was also aided by comments made by Vice President JD Vance in today's keynote speech at the Paris AI summit. The vice president promised that the U.S. would safeguard American AI technologies and urged regulators in Europe to reduce regulations targeting AI.
Intel is an American company with manufacturing capability in the U.S. Rival chipmakers like Nvidia fabricate their chips primarily in Taiwan. It's possible that Intel could be a direct beneficiary of any initiatives from the Trump administration aimed at promoting domestic AI. The vice president's address appeared to give Intel investors hope that would be the case.
