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Intel shares tumble after a weak forecast hit by the PC slowdown and an Israel fab blast

Revenue rose 21% and data center sales jumped 78%, but Intel guided fourth-quarter revenue below estimates and its finance chief said a deadly fab explosion in Israel will cut about $300 million from fourth-quarter revenue.

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Why it matters: Intel's fourth-quarter forecast came in below what analysts expected, and its finance chief sees the PC slowdown lasting into next year.

For information only, not investment advice. Prices delayed.

Tickers: INTC

Intel's data center sales soared while its PC chip sales fell
Sainteur chart · Data: Intel; CNBC

Intel ($INTC) shares tumbled in extended trading on Thursday after the chipmaker gave a weak fourth-quarter forecast and pointed to a soft PC market, CNBC reported.

The quarter beat. Revenue rose 21% to $16.5 billion and non-GAAP earnings came in at $0.52 a share, Intel said, above the 40 cents analysts expected, according to Reuters. Data center and AI revenue jumped 78% to $7.3 billion, CNBC reported, while the client computing and physical AI group, home to the PC chips, fell 5% to $8.1 billion and missed estimates.

The outlook is the problem. Intel guided fourth-quarter revenue to $15.0 billion to $16.0 billion and non-GAAP earnings to $0.25 a share, short of the $17.07 billion and 43 cents analysts expected, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Finance chief David Zinsner said in the release that he sees the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said: “Despite near-term headwinds across the PC industry, demand for our CPUs remains robust, reinforcing our confidence in the long-term growth opportunities for our business.”

The Israel fab blast also weighed on the outlook. An explosion at Intel's fab there earlier this month killed two workers and seriously injured a third, CNBC reported. Zinsner told Reuters the blast cut roughly $300 million from the fourth-quarter revenue outlook and about 200 basis points from gross margins, with a similar revenue hit expected in the first quarter.

Behind the PC slump, Yahoo Finance pointed to tough comparisons with last year, when Microsoft ended support for Windows 10, and to rising PC prices.

Sources

  1. Intel Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Financial Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), Intel
  2. Intel stock plunges 21% as chipmaker blames PC slowdown for weak guidance, CNBC
  3. Intel shares drop 21% on Israel factory blast, PC weakness, Reuters (via CNA)
  4. Intel tops Q3 earnings estimates, but falls short of Q4 outlook on sluggish PC sales as stock plunges 20%, Yahoo Finance

Tags: earnings · guidance · semiconductors · markets-moves