Nvidia Could Use Intel’s Foundry in 2028. Is It Worth Buying INTC Stock Now and Waiting?

Semiconductor stocks have been volatile lately, and Intel (INTC) is no exception. After a strong rally in 2025, fueled by a new CEO and AI optimism, Intel’s stock has swung on mixed results. The chipmaker reported solid Q4 2025 results, topping estimates on both revenue and EPS, but its cautious 2026 guidance and manufacturing constraints rattled investors. 

Just as Intel shares sold off on those worries, a new twist emerged. Reports say Nvidia (NVDA) is exploring Intel’s foundry services for its 2028 “Feynman” GPUs. This unexpected potential partnership has rekindled optimism about Intel’s foundry strategy and put INTC back in the headlines. This is not the first time that Nvidia has joined forces with Intel. In late 2025, Intel and Nvidia announced a pact to co-develop AI CPUs and GPUs, with Intel building Nvidia-custom x86 CPUs and GPU+CPU “SoCs,” and Nvidia taking a $5 billion Intel stake.

The question now is: Is Intel’s stock a buy-and-hold as it pursues this long-term opportunity? Let’s break it down.

Intel in a Nutshell

Backed by the U.S. government, Intel is a pioneer of x86 PC and server processors that power much of the computing world. It designs and manufactures CPUs for PCs, servers, and edge devices, and it is aggressively rebuilding a foundry business to make chips for others. What makes Intel unique is its massive R&D and fabrication capacity in the U.S., plus deep ties in the tech ecosystem, assets it hopes to leverage as…