Cramer trust adds to Intel stake after ASML earnings lift chip sentiment

CNBC’s Investing Club said Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust planned to buy another 100 Intel shares shortly after Wednesday’s open at about $110 each, raising the holding to 1,100 shares. The trade would increase Intel’s weight in the portfolio to roughly 3% from 2.7%, while Intel shares were up a couple of dollars in premarket trading after ASML Holding reported strong earnings.

The planned purchase is the trust’s second addition to Intel this week, according to the Investing Club, which said it also bought shares on Monday. The club said Cramer has often called Intel his favorite holding in the portfolio and would discuss the investment case at its monthly meeting scheduled for Thursday at noon ET.

The immediate market catalyst cited by the Investing Club was ASML, the Dutch supplier of advanced chipmaking equipment. ASML said Intel Foundry is using its High NA EUV lithography machines on the company’s 18A process node to make a subset of Intel Core Ulta Series 3 processors, which are designed for artificial intelligence personal computers.

Extreme ultraviolet lithography is a core manufacturing step for advanced semiconductors. ASML’s high numerical aperture systems project patterns onto silicon wafers with greater precision, allowing chipmakers to produce smaller features and more complex circuits. The machines are expensive and technically demanding, so the Investing Club described Intel’s purchases as a positive sign for the company’s foundry effort, including capacity expansion and yield improvement for leading-edge chips.

Intel has been trying to build its contract manufacturing business through Intel Foundry, a strategy that requires large capital commitments and customer confidence in its process technology. The 18A node is one of the company’s leading-edge manufacturing platforms, and ASML’s comments linked that technology to processors aimed at AI-capable personal computers.

The Investing Club also pointed to several data points suggesting continued AI-related semiconductor spending. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported June sales that rose about 68% from a year earlier, according to the club, which said it expected a positive tone when the company releases full earnings early Thursday.

ASML also said it plans to expand capacity for 2028 to meet strong demand, the Investing Club noted. Separately, the club said IBM’s pre-announced quarterly warning showed customers prioritising capital expenditure on servers, storage and memory over mainframe hardware.

The trade alert came with CNBC Investing Club disclosures. The club said Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long Intel and that subscribers receive alerts before Cramer trades for the trust. Under the club’s stated policy, Cramer waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in the trust, and waits 72 hours after an alert if he has discussed the stock on CNBC television.

The Investing Club also stated that its information is subject to its terms, conditions, privacy policy and disclaimer, and that no fiduciary duty is created or specific profit is guaranteed.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.