Intel shares fall 29% after weak fourth-quarter guidance

Intel shares fell 29% on October 30, the largest single-day decline since 1982, after the chipmaker's fourth-quarter guidance came in well below Wall Street expectations, according to bloter.net. About $137 billion was wiped off Intel's market capitalization in the session.

For the fourth quarter, Intel forecast revenue of $15–16 billion, short of the $17.07 billion Wall Street average, and adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents against an expected 43 cents. The company also expects PC chip revenue to fall more than 20% in the quarter, after a 5% sequential decline in the third quarter. CFO David Zinsner said the PC market slowdown is expected to last at least through the first half of next year.

The guidance also reflects an explosion earlier this month at Intel's Israeli chip plant, which killed two workers and seriously injured one. The plant shutdown disrupted shipments of 10nm process chips, with an expected revenue loss of about $600 million over two quarters.

Foundry growth offset by core weakness

Intel's foundry division posted third-quarter revenue of $6.7 billion, up 58% year on year. The company is mass-producing 18A (1.8nm-class) chips at its new Arizona plant, and its next Arizona plant is expected to start operation at the end of 2028.

The selloff hit other holders of Intel stock. The U.S. government's roughly 10% stake, taken about a year before the article, lost about $12 billion in value that day, while Nvidia's stake lost an estimated $6 billion. Before the earnings release, Intel shares had risen about 150% this year, supported by demand for CPUs for agentic AI workloads.