- Intel’s outlook sank the stock. It guided fourth-quarter adjusted EPS to 25 cents on revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, well below LSEG estimates of 43 cents and $17.1 billion, and shares fell about 21% in extended trading.
- The quarter itself beat. Adjusted EPS was 52 cents versus 40 cents expected, and revenue rose 21% to $16.51 billion, just ahead of the $16.5 billion estimate.
- The two businesses split. Data center and AI revenue jumped 78% to $7.3 billion, while client computing and physical AI revenue fell 5% to $8.1 billion and missed estimates.
- A fab accident adds to the pressure. An explosion at Intel’s fab in Israel earlier this month will cost about $600 million in lost revenue over two quarters, finance chief David Zinsner said.
What Happened?
Intel reported third-quarter results after the close Thursday. “We see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year,” Zinsner said in the release. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said he was “disappointed that we were not able to meet strong customer demand in this quarter,” and that Intel will have “a couple of customers ready to announce the next two quarters” for its foundry business, which has no major external customers for its new chips yet.
Why It Matters?
The selloff hits one of 2026’s strongest chip trades. Intel was up about 150% this year before the report, though it had already fallen roughly 23% in October on growing concern over the size of the AI buildout. The stock has been lifted by demand for CPUs in agentic AI, and the US government took a 10% stake last year, with Nvidia and SoftBank also investing billions. Intel also completed a $23 billion equity offering in August.
What’s Next?
Chip investors get more read-throughs soon, with AMD reporting next week and Nvidia in mid-November. For Intel, the key signals are whether PC demand stabilizes, how quickly supply lost to the Israel fab recovers, and whether the promised foundry customers are named, along with any update on Tan’s plan to accelerate the Ohio buildout.
