Trump Promotes U.S. Tech Force Initiative, Intel Appoints New Executives

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

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Updated: Dec 16 2025

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Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.U.S. TECH FORCE:The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy, and agency leaders across the administration, on Mondaythe establishment of the United States Tech Force, a new, cross-government program to recruit top technologists to modernize the federal government. "President Trump has made clear that securing America's leadership in AI is the paramount national challenge of this generation. The president's AI Action Plan focuses on unleashing private sector innovation while also recognizing the federal government must have the technical talent to lead in technology modernization. Tech Force is a critical aspect of this directive - a government-wide effort to surge teams of top engineers, data scientists, and technology leaders to tackle the government's most complex and large-scale challenges and deliver on the president's vision. In collaboration with leading private-sector technology companies, participants will receive world-class technical training and work closely with senior managers sourced directly from industry."OPM announced the initial private sector partners for Tech Force: Adobe, Amazon Web Services, AMD, Anduril, Apple, Box, C3.ai, Coinbase, Databricks, Dell Technologies, Docusign, Google Public Sector, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Robinhood, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Synopsys, Uber, Workday, xAI, and Zoom.MARIJUANA RECLASSIFICATION:President Donald Trump says he is looking at reclassifying marijuana "very strongly," according to Bloomberg. Publicly traded companies in the cannabis space include Aurora Cannabis, CV Sciences, Canopy Growth, Cronos Group, Goodness Growth, Green Thumb Industries, IGC Pharma, Tilray, Trees Corporationand Trulieve Cannabis.CRYPTO:After Trump returned to the White House, the SEC eased up on or dismissed more than 60% of ongoing crypto cases, including ones about Trump-tied companies, moving to pause litigation, lessen penalties or outright dismiss the cases, The New York Times' Ben Protess, Andrea Fuller, Sharon LaFraniere, and Seamus Hughes. Under Trump, SEC dismissals came at a "far higher rate" for crypto firms than other cases, the report says. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital, Bitfarms, Circle Internet, Coinbase, Core Scientific, Greenidge Generation, Mara Holdings, Riot Platforms, Strategy, Stronghold Digital Miningand TeraWulf.ECONOMIC ADVISOR:Intelon Mondaysenior leadership appointments in three core functions - government affairs, marketing & communications and advanced technology strategy. Robin Colwell has joined Intel as senior vice president of government affairs, where she will lead the company's global engagement with policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders. Colwell most recently served as deputy assistant to President Donald J. Trump and deputy director of the National Economic Council, developing Administration policies across all sectors of the U.S. economy. Robin's appointment follows that of James Chew as vice president of Intel Government Technologies. Annie Shea Weckesser has been appointed senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. She will lead Intel's newly integrated global marketing and communications organization, unifying corporate reputation, brand strategy, and market engagement. Weckesser joins Intel from SambaNova, where she served as chief marketing officer. In addition to his current role as chief of staff to the CEO, Pushkar Ranade will also serve as interim chief technology officer to help formulate the company's advanced technology strategy and to consolidate and develop critical emerging technologies, such as quantum computing, advanced interconnects, and novel materials within the new CTO Office.WHITE HOUSE DECISION:Many competitors to Nvidiawere shocked that soft-spoken CEO Jensen Huang was able to convince the White House to allow the company to sell its H200 chips to China, Joe Miller, Demetri Sevastopulo, and Michael Acton of The Financial Times. "I think game recognizes game," a person familiar with the company's strategy told the Times. Until recently, Nvidia had a threadbare lobbying operation in Washington and Haung was initially skeptical of the "value proposition" of courting Trump after his reelection, a person familiar with the company's strategy said. After the White House restricted the sale of H20 chips to China, Nvidia was drawn into politics, with the company joining a consortium and Haung meeting with Trump privately at least six times this year.

ADBE

$296.12+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on ADBE

Wall Street analysts forecast ADBE stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ADBE is 459.91 USD with a low forecast of 280.00 USD and a high forecast of 590.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

26 Analyst Rating

18 Buy

7 Hold

1 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 304.090

Low

280.00

Averages

459.91

High

590.00

Current: 304.090

Low

280.00

Averages

459.91

High

590.00

BMO Capital

Outperform -> Market Perform

downgrade

$400 -> $375

Al Analysis

2026-01-09

Reason

BMO Capital

Price Target

$400 -> $375

Al Analysis

2026-01-09

downgrade

Outperform -> Market Perform

Reason

BMO Capital downgraded Adobe to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $375, down from $400. The firm's creative cloud survey indicates creative market competitive dynamics are increasing, particularly in smaller businesses, students, and freelancers. While Adobe's valuation is "undemanding," BMO does not see positive catalysts and thinks the shares will remain range-bound, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Jefferies

Hold -> Buy

upgrade

$300 -> $360

2026-01-04

Reason

Jefferies

Price Target

$300 -> $360

2026-01-04

upgrade

Hold -> Buy

Reason

Jefferies upgraded IBM to Buy from Hold with a price target of $360, up from $300. The firm adjusted ratings in the software sector as part of its "playbook" for 2026. Investors should stay underweight software as growth slows and lags other sectors like semiconductors, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jefferies believes 2026 will be another year of "gradual" artificial intelligence monetization, with more meaningful growth needed to ease disintermediation fears. The firm prefers infrastructure over applications in the first half of the year, but believes negative application sentiment "is not grounded in realities." Applications sentiment should improve in the back half the year, Jefferies contends. To reflect this, the firm upgraded IBM and downgraded Adobe to start off the year.

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Jefferies

Buy

Hold

downgrade

$500 -> $400

2026-01-04

Reason

Jefferies

Price Target

$500 -> $400

2026-01-04

downgrade

Buy

Hold

Reason

Jefferies downgraded Adobe to Hold from Buy with a price target of $400, down from $500. The firm adjusted ratings in the software sector as part of its "playbook" for 2026. Investors should stay underweight software as growth slows and lags other sectors like semiconductors, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jefferies believes 2026 will be another year of "gradual" artificial intelligence monetization, with more meaningful growth needed to ease disintermediation fears. The firm prefers infrastructure over applications in the first half of the year, but believes negative application sentiment "is not grounded in realities." Applications sentiment should improve in the back half the year, Jefferies contends. To reflect this, the firm upgraded IBM and downgraded Adobe to start off the year.

Citi

Tyler Radke

Neutral

maintain

$366 -> $387

2025-12-17

Reason

Citi

Tyler Radke

Price Target

$366 -> $387

2025-12-17

maintain

Neutral

Reason

Citi analyst Tyler Radke raised the firm's price target on Adobe to $387 from $366 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated the company's model post the fiscal Q4 report. The quarter showed upside but the fiscal 2026 outlook was mixed, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

About ADBE

Adobe Inc. is a global technology company. The Company's products, services and solutions are used around the world to imagine, create, manage, deliver, measure, optimize and engage with content across surfaces and fuel digital experiences. Its segments include Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising. The Digital Media segment is centered around Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Document Cloud, which include Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Photoshop and other products, offering a variety of tools for creative professionals, communicators and other consumers. The Digital Experience segment provides an integrated platform and set of products, services and solutions through Adobe Experience Cloud. The Publishing and Advertising segment contains legacy products and services. In addition, its Adobe GenStudio solution allows businesses to simplify their content supply chain process with generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and intelligent automation.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.