Intel Increases Fundraising to $20 Billion — Why This Is Good News for ASML

According to Barron's, Intel (INTC-US) plans to raise $20 billion through a stock offering, which is good news for ASML (ASML-US) and other semiconductor equipment makers.

On Monday evening, Intel announced it would increase its fundraising target from the initial $15 billion to $20 billion. The company plans to issue 210.5 million new shares at $95 per share.

Intel's stock rose 0.2% on Tuesday (11th), closing at $97.71. On Monday, when the fundraising plan was first announced, the stock fell 4.1%, closing at $97.52, with a market capitalization of approximately $492 billion at the time.

Intel is capitalizing on its sharply rising stock price to raise funds. As of Tuesday’s close, the stock has surged 165% year-to-date and 348% over the past 12 months.

The market believes it knows where this capital will go: chip manufacturing equipment. This is good news for ASML, which produces the lithography systems required to manufacture advanced chips. ASML’s ADR shares rose 3.8% on Tuesday, closing at $1,799.38.

Matt Bryson, an analyst at KeyBanc, wrote in a research report, 'We believe this fundraising aligns with Intel’s increased investment to meet current CPU demand and future needs in custom ASICs, foundry, and packaging. While equity dilution is negative for existing investors, the demand signal is positive for Intel, peers, and capital equipment suppliers.'

Other semiconductor equipment makers also saw gains on Tuesday, including Lam Research (LRCX-US), KLA Corp (KLAC-US), and Applied Materials (AMAT-US).

Intel’s management stated in its latest earnings call that it has raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to over $20 billion, up from the previous estimate of around $18 billion, as the company works to meet sustained increases in product demand.

Intel is making significant investments to attract external customers with its current 18A and future 14A chip manufacturing processes, aiming to offset the billions of dollars in quarterly losses currently incurred by its foundry division.

According to FactSet estimates, Intel is expected to report slightly negative free cash flow this year. From 2022 to 2025, the company’s cumulative free cash flow is projected to be negative $44 billion.