Intel's shares fall more than 20% after a weak forecast
Intel's factory in Kiryat Gat, Israel, around 2008. An explosion at the site in October is weighing on its forecast.
Source: Kiryat Gat Archive, via PikiWiki, CC BY 2.5, cropped
Intel reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion on 29 October, up 21% from a year earlier, with Data Center and AI revenue up 78% to $7.3 billion. Net income attributable to Intel fell to $3.3 billion from $4.1 billion.
The forecast is what hurt. Intel expects $15 to 16 billion in the fourth quarter, against an analyst consensus of $17.1 billion, and its shares fell more than 20% in extended trading.
Two things are holding it back. CFO David Zinsner said: "We see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year." And Intel can't make enough server chips. "Our immediate priority is to unlock additional supply to meet extraordinary demand for our Xeon family," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said.
The forecast also includes the effects of an explosion on 14 October at Intel's plant in Kiryat Gat, Israel, which killed two workers and seriously injured a third. Zinsner put the hit at about $300 million of revenue in the fourth quarter and a similar amount in the first quarter of 2027, and called the estimate preliminary. He said the site had been down for about two weeks and that production was about to restart.
Sources
- Intel Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Financial Results, Intel
- Intel stock plunges 21% as chipmaker blames PC slowdown for weak guidance, CNBC
- Intel's $600 million question: How the Kiryat Gat explosion hit its forecast, Calcalist
- Two killed, one seriously hurt in explosion at Intel's chip plant in Israel, Tom's Hardware