INTC Stock’s Next Boost Could Be Here: Report Says Intel May Land Korea's SK Hynix As Major Customer

The reported move would reduce SK Hynix’s heavy reliance on TSMC and bring Intel a major customer for its foundry business.

• Intel could offer SK hynix greater supply and pricing flexibility, according to a report in Herald Economy
• In July, reports said SK hynix was among potential partners Intel was considering to help operate its delayed Ohio fab, although SK Hynix denied the reports.
• Stocktwits sentiment for INTC was ‘bullish’ on Sunday. 

Shares of Intel Corp. recovered slightly in overnight trading late Sunday after a report in South Korean media said that semiconductor giant SK Hynix is considering Intel Foundry as a supplier for the base dies used in its next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

If the reported talks materialize in a deal, it would give the U.S. chipmaker a major new customer as it seeks to revive its contract manufacturing business.

Intel shares were down 0.5% at the time of writing, recovering from a nearly 2% drop about an hour earlier. SK Hynix’s U.S.-listed shares were down 1.5%.

The South Korean memory giant is reportedly looking to outsource some base-die production to Intel Foundry beginning with HBM4E, the seventh-generation HBM product, according to a report by Korean outlet Herald Economy. The move would diversify a supply chain that is currently heavily reliant on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC).

The base die sits at the bottom of an HBM stack and handles logic, control, and high-speed connectivity between the memory stack and processors such as GPUs. SK Hynix produced base dies internally for HBM3E but began working with TSMC on more advanced logic dies starting with HBM4. Its HBM4 uses a TSMC-produced base die based on a 12nm-class process.  

Industry sources cited by Herald Economy said TSMC’s HBM4 base die is estimated to cost three to four times more than an SK Hynix-produced core DRAM die. As HBM generations become more sophisticated, base-die costs are expected to rise further, while long-term supply agreements make it difficult for SK Hynix to simply pass higher manufacturing costs on to customers.

Potential Boost For Intel

The potential foundry tie-up comes after recent speculation that SK Hynix could have a broader relationship with Intel. In July, reports said SK Hynix was among potential partners Intel was considering to help operate its delayed Ohio fab. SK Hynix denied pursuing an acquisition of the site, but separate reports said an operating partnership remained a possibility, although no formal negotiations had begun.  

The companies already have a significant history together. In 2020, Intel agreed to sell its NAND and SSD business and Dalian memory facility to SK Hynix for $9 billion, with the transaction subsequently completed.  

For Intel, an HBM base-die contract would help its foundry business attempt a turnaround after years of manufacturing setbacks. Intel has ramped its 18A process into high-volume production and is developing 14A as its first leading-edge node designed from the outset for external customers. 

Intel Foundry, however, remains deeply loss-making, reporting a $2.1 billion operating loss in the second quarter of 2026 despite higher revenue. 

INTC Stock: What Do Retail Traders Feel?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for INTC climbed over the past week and was ‘bullish’ as of late Sunday, with the ticker trending among the top five equities at the time of writing.

“$INTC Buy the dip. Trump and Pelosi both in. Rare event,” a trader wrote, referring to the President’s and former House Speaker’s stakes in the chipmaker. 

Another wrote: “$INTC Production deal with SK Hynix. Nice. Should be good enough news to give us a -10 percent day tomorrow.”

One trader expressed a bit of caution: “BUY THE RUMOR, SELL THE NEWS… ‘Sk Hynix CONSIDERING’  IMO price will rally and when the news drops about the deal its time to SELL it.”

Intel stock has lost steam in recent months after a sharp rally earlier this year. Shares are down nearly 1% in August after an over 35% drop in the previous month, although they remain 143% higher year to date.

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