Intel (INTC) traded 2.5% higher near $102.84 late Friday, after President Donald Trump insisted his proposed $5,000 midterm election payment to American adults will happen indefinitely.
The move extended a run that has carried the chipmaker above $100. The government bought in at $20.47 a share last year, and that paper profit has become a favorite talking point for the administration.
Lutnick Puts a Number on the Intel Position
Following Trump’s reassurance, his administration’s Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, told NBC News that the checks would not be drawn from tax revenue.
Instead, he pointed to Washington’s Intel shares as a way to pay for it, describing the lNTC holdings as money the government can earn rather than collect.
“Everybody knows we got just about 500 million shares, and the stock was $20, and now it’s $100, so we’re up $50 billion,” said Lutnick.
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Washington holds 433.3 million shares, acquired for $8.9 billion, so at $102.84 per share the position is worth roughly $44.6 billion. The gain sits near $36 billion, the same figure BeInCrypto reported for Washington’s Intel stake earlier this week.
The Stake Covers a Sliver of the Bill
Independent estimates price the dividend at about $1.2 trillion, based on roughly 240 million adult citizens. The entire Intel position would account for close to 4% of that.
None of it is cash. The shares remain unsold, and unloading a 9.9% block would almost certainly drag the price down.
Other officials have offered different answers. Kevin Hassett has cited budget reconciliation in Congress, while Vice President JD Vance has pointed to tariffs.
BeInCrypto also weighed what Trump’s midterm payout plan could mean for risk assets.
Traders are reading each mention as a sign Washington intends to hold the shares, but whether the dividend survives the funding math is a question November may settle.
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