Intel Shares Close Down About 29%: Fourth-Quarter Guidance Misses Expectations as Israel Fab Blast Weighs on Outlook
Intel shares closed down about 29% on October 30, ending at $65.76 a share, a drop of 28.6% from the previous close of $92.07 and the stock's worst single day since the 1970s. The plunge followed fourth-quarter guidance from the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker that fell short of Wall Street expectations and dragged the wider semiconductor sector lower.
Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, below the average analyst estimate of $17.07 billion compiled by LSEG, and adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share, trailing estimates of 43 cents, according to Reuters. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said the slowdown in the personal computer market would continue at least through the first half of 2027, and that Intel does not expect positive cash flow this year.
A factory accident also weighed on the outlook. An explosion in October at Intel's wafer plant in Kiryat Gat, Israel, idled the fab for two weeks, and the company is still assessing which wafers can be salvaged. Zinsner told Reuters the incident cut the fourth-quarter revenue outlook by roughly $300 million and gross margins by about 200 basis points, with a similar revenue impact expected in the first quarter. The plant mainly produces data-center chips on the Intel 10 process.
The results themselves were solid: third-quarter revenue rose 21% to $16.51 billion, largely in line with estimates, and adjusted profit of 52 cents a share beat expectations of 40 cents. But PC chip sales fell 5% to $8.10 billion, missing estimates of $8.98 billion, and Intel expects that segment's revenue to fall by more than 20% in the fourth quarter. Shares of AMD, Arm, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Broadcom and Micron fell between about 2% and 10% the same day. The U.S. government holds roughly 10% of Intel, and the sell-off cut the value of that stake by about $12 billion in one session. Intel has raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to $20 billion and says spending will increase significantly in 2027 as it expands manufacturing capacity.
Related: Intel Third-Quarter Revenue Rises 21% to $16.5 Billion as Data Center Revenue Jumps 78%
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：英特尔位于 Oregon 州 Hillsboro 的 Ronler Acres 园区正门，园区标识清晰。Steve Morgan 摄，CC BY-SA，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The main entrance to Intel's Ronler Acres campus in Hillsboro, Oregon. Photo by Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons.
